Ella Read and The Prophecy of the gods: Book One
by Calypso C
Summary: Discontinued until further notice.
1. My math teacher tries to eat me

**Hi! This is my first Percy Jackson Fanfic, and my first on this website! **

**Please feel free to critique my first chapter, but don't criticize. Oh, and especially on grammar, spelling, etc., please tell me if I have made any mistakes.**

**And REVIEW! Yes, if you could please review, that would be GREAT!**

**I, sadly, do not own the Percy Jackson. *sob* Or Camp-half blood or any of that. *another sob* **

**Hope you like it!**

**-Calypso C.**

**p.s. This is after TLO. **

* * *

**My math teacher tries to eat me**

My name is Ella Read. Let's just get this over with, and then you can send me the asylum.

I'm a demigod.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking, _you're crazy!_ But I'm not. Really.

It all started when I was twelve, the age when most half-bloods start attracting monsters.

My middle school was your typical building of terror, including evil teachers, mean backstabbing friends and popular people who think everyone else is poop! Yee-haw.

Now let's just get something straight here. I'm not popular. At all. So, of course, I got teased. Her name was Helen.

Helen was four foot seven, with shoulder length brown hair, and eyes that shone likes suns, but in a bad way. She commanded seventh grade. End of story. Of course, I was new that year, so everyone had already 'bonded' during sixth grade. So, I ask you, how in the world was I supposed to know she was the queen bee? I'm not psychic. Even if I was, I most likely would have said it anyway. I don't like bullies. Can't stand them, never will.

So basically, I got on her bad side. It was fun.

On the first day of school I was wearing old navy jeans, and a blue T-shirt. My auburn hair was braided over my right shoulder, like normal, resting on my chest.

I walked in my classroom, and plunked myself down next to her. Her eyes glared up at me (because, and let me tell you, I was taller than her by about 8 inches. Do the math) and she said, "You can't sit there."

I rolled my hazel eyes. "Uh, yeah, I kinda can. Ms. Garni said to sit where ever we wanted."

"But I say you can't. Move. Taylor is sitting there." Helen growled.

I raised my hands in a truce, "What's your problem? You have an empty sit on your other side." I probably should have just moved, I mean, what's the big deal? But I don't like to be bossed around by kids. Specifically popular people. And yes, I could just TELL that she was. From head to toe, she looked the part. And sounded like it. I just didn't know she was THE queen bee.

Anyway.

"Emily is sitting there. Move, loser." That made me mad. Really mad. Mad, beyond mad.

Then, unfortunately for me, but fortunately Helen, Ms, Garni waddled in the room. I stormed up and sat in a seat two rows back.

I pulled out _The Brooklyn Nine_ and began to read inning three. I ignored the whispers of _geek, nerd _and _dork._

I'd like to say that I just shrugged it off. But I didn't.

After an hour of whispered taunts, class was over. In the hallway I said, "sour-headed cur." I don't think she actually understood what it meant, but by the tone of my voice, I had the feeling she knew she was being mocked.

Whoever put together the schedules was complete idiot. Although I'm sure they didn't know half of what was going on. I had first, second, third, fourth, lunch, free time, fifth and ninth block with Helen and her gang (consisting of several more girls, in addition to the infamous Taylor and Emily.). Whoo-hoo.

During Language arts, they teased me.

During Social Studies, they mocked me.

During Science, they ridiculed me.

Are you starting to see a pattern? I am.

At lunch, I finally made my escape. I quickly glanced at all the tables, and choose one with a few girls that looked nice. I sat and unpacked my lunch (turkey sandwich, apples, cucumbers and a cheese stick) and said, "Hi."

Yeah, I know! Lame, lame, lame, but that was the best I could do right then. A few girls said hello back, but some just looked at me. A red head girl with a black tank top on (which HAD to be violating the school dress code) spoke. "So you're new, huh?"

I was tempted to roll my eyes. But that's not very friendly, is it now? No, it's not. And I figured I need some friends. "Yeah. We moved here from Ashville, North Carolina. NYC is _very_ different from the mountains." The girls raised their eyebrows. Great. I bet now they will call me a 'country hick'. Surprisingly, the red head just announced, "My name is Callie."

A brunette joked, "Yeah, it's short for Calpurnia!" I had to laugh at that.

"Really?" I asked.

Callie rolled her eyes, "My parents are a bit…odd. Anyways, that's—"She pointed to brunette who had made the joke."—Grace, and Katie across from Grace, Margret is next to Katie and Sally is next to me."

Besides Callie and Grace, all the other girls were blonde. This didn't make me feel out of place though. Soon, we were chatting and laughing so much that we didn't notice Helen walking over. Callie had called Helen's posse, 'the chick clique'. Get it? They are chicks, as in hot, but also as in chicken, which are dumb. I thought the name very appropriate.

"Ah, I see you found some…friends." Helen turned and walked away, but we could still here her mutter, "_Nerd._"

My face flushed, it was bad enough to have them taunt when it's just me, but with possible friends? Worse, way worse. I blinked, and stared at the clock. It was almost time to go.

Callie sympathetically put a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay. We all have had that treatment before. You get use to it."

But I knew I never would.

* * *

Weeks passed by, and Helen and Co. didn't relent from pestering me. Every day, especially at free time, where the teachers were chatting, not paying attention the students, she would come over and make fun of me. A few of her favorites were:

My clothes. "I can't believe you don't wear ANY designer. So lame!"

My make-up. "You don't wear make-up? Well, someone is childish."

My town. "You're from the country? Hick!"

My family. "Where's your mom, huh? Did she run away when she saw what you looked liked?"

Besides Callie and her friends (and I only had lunch and free time with them), there was only two things that kept me from skipping school. My dad and Mr. Brakken.

It was true; my mom had left me right after I was born. My dad would always say, "Not dead, just a prisoner in war." I didn't believe that. Maybe she was alive, but she left us. She had abandoned us. She had deserted us.

My dad had done the best he could, trying to raise me, but face it, a girl needs a mother. Luckily for me, one of my schools had a health class, so we didn't have to give me 'the talk'. But my dad didn't understand ANYTHING about being a girl, and he was pretty busy with his inventions, so there was much time. I grew up learning not to care about clothes, make-up and all that girly-girl stuff. I just lived without it, and I turned out fine. Although Helen would say otherwise.

My teacher, Mr. Brakken, taught social studies (in other words, history), and spent most of the year teaching us about the Greeks. I have to say, it was really interesting, and I liked learning about all the gods and stuff, but school was never that easy for me.

I had a case of dyslexia, and ADHD. The words on the page swam around in circles, and it would take me forever to read chapters. The ADHD caused me to wander off, in my own world, thinking about random things, like, how they got lead inside a pencil. I mean, really! How do you insert the lead, inside the pencil, without any visible cracks?

Anyway, Mr. Brakken made the class fun, on review days he would challenge us sword point against chalk, to write on the board the name of every Greek person who ever lived, their parents, and what god they worshipped. It was fun, even though my spelling was so off, I had to say the name instead.

So by the time the end of the year was rolling around, that had become my favorite class.

Callie was right in some ways, I did get used to Helen's teasing, at least a little, but it was still hard not to flare up and punch her in the face.

Soon, it was exam week, then summer. I tried to study, but I just couldn't. My mind kept wandering off, thinking about weird things that had happened to me before. And let me tell you, there were a lot.

For instance, when I was six, my dad took me to a raptor center. We toured around, but my favorite birds were the owls. I could have sworn they were talking to me in my head, but I knew that that wasn't possible. When I left they said, "Goodbye, gentle queen."

Or when I was eight, my school took me on a field trip to a battle museum and somehow I ended up in the weapon section, with all of the knifes out of their cases (glass ones I might add).

And—well, I could go on all day, but you get the point.

No matter how hard I tried, I just _couldn't_ keep my mind on track. I threw my math textbook against the wall in anger. Then I sighed. I picked up my Greek one instead, and started studying. I glimpsed through chapter one, and starting reading chapter two, The gods.

_The gods were very important to the Greek Empire. They each represented their own 'element', emotion or such. For instance, Apollo was god of the sun, along with music, and healing. His twin sister, Artemis, was god of the moon, maidens, and the hunt. _

_The Greeks would sacrifice part of their meal- the juiciest or most delicious part-in the fire, for the gods. While they did, they would pray to them in thanks._

_Gods were said to be able to take any form that they wish, whether it be a man, woman, dog or fire. Sometimes, they would 'come down to Earth' and have affairs with mortals. Their offspring were called demigods._

At the word demigod, I felt this tingling over my back. Like a shiver, but more…scary, I guess. I sighed again, put the books down, and flopped on my bed, then fell fast asleep.

* * *

The next day, the first exam day, I felt cheerful, even though I had gotten no studying done. But I had no idea what would happen.

During lunch Helen, Taylor and Emily came over to our (and by our, I mean mine, Callie's, Sally's, Margret's, Grace's and Katie's) table and smirked. "Well, well, losers. Look what Ella is wearing! I mean, a T-shirt? And you haven't worn a skirt all year long. Why doesn't your mom give you fashion advice? Oh wait, I forgot, she left you because you were so ugly."

I took a deep breath, stood up, and stormed away outside. Lunch was almost over anyways.

I sat down on one of the benches. Behind a tree. And a trashcan. I didn't want Helen to find me; I think I would have done one of two things,

a) cried,

Or b) punch her in the face.

But she did find me. She did. Helen started ranting on about how ugly I was, how my clothes were so drab and how my mother was right to leave me. Insult, after insult, after insult. Finally, I just couldn't stand it anymore. I let out a call, which startled them, and a dozen owls, white, black, speckled, brown and many more colors, came flying toward them.

My first thought was, _are they going to poop on Helen?_

Sadly, they didn't. Instead they pushed them to the ground, and clawed at their backs.

I think Ms. Garni saw. Yep, she did alright.

"Ella. Please come with me, now." Ms. Garni cackled. I mean, she really cackled. It was a little unnerving, but I shrugged it off.

"What? I didn't do anything!" _besides summon a dozen birds to attack the meanest girl in school_

_._

"Do you think wouldn't figure it out? You can't hide from us!" Then, suddenly, she began to change.

Her skin grew dry and brittle, her eyes turned into purple flames, and her body stretched out until it was long a slithery.

I'm pretty sure I screamed something like, "Ahhh! You monster!"

She cackled some more. Then charged at me, but before she could reach me and tear my heart from my body, an arrow sprouted out of her chest, and she dissolved into dust.

* * *

**Please review! Please, please, please! Click the magic button that makes me HAPPY! **


	2. Duck Tape is a lethal weapon

**FYI, most likely it will take about a week for each chapter, because a) I procrastinate, b) I'm too lazy and c) I like to check my work three or four times (although a lot of mistakes still slip through). Although, reviews will help! :D **

**Another notice….this is after TLH (and the rest of the to-be series)!**

**And the story DOES have some spoilers for The Lost Hero. Just to let you know. **

**I suppose I must put a disclaimer. I DO NOT own Camp Half-Blood, Percy Jackson, Jason, Piper, Leo, Annabeth or Chiron. Or any of Rick Riordan's theme's, idea's or character's. I do, however, own the plot, Ella and Tanner. **

**-Calypso C. **

A shadow that occupied the space where that…monster had, a few seconds before, stood, was oddly shaped. The bottom was a horse, but the top part formed a...man? I turned my head to the side. I blinked. Then blinked again.

What I was seeing couldn't have possibly been true. But it was. My social studies teacher was a horse! Of course, being me, I gargled something along the lines of, "But…Mr. Brakken, you're, but…big snake thing…arrow…centaur?" Almost positively making myself look like an idiot.

Then he- or it?- grabbed my hand, and tossed me onto his back. "Hold on!" He told me, and then my teacher started to galloped. At first it was normal, but then his foot falls got faster and faster, until it seemed that we were covering miles and miles with every step. The whole world was a blur.

Finally, we stopped. I peered around. There was a big blue house, and some cabins, all of them different, maybe twenty or so. One looked hotter than the sun, and another was surrounded by barbed wire and had red paint splashed all over the walls. To add to the decor, a boars head was mounted just above the doorway.

I also saw a climbing tower (but with lava, and it looked like it was shaking), a target area (that looked pretty normal), an open pavilion, and an arena. And a few other buildings that looked ancient Greek. I then turned to Mr. Brakken. I had almost forgotten he was half horse. "So, you're a centaur…?"

I know that sounded all, 'yeah, I can roll with the punches' but, inside…let's just say my senses were going overboard. "Yes. I'm Chiron. Sorry for impersonating you're teacher, but we had to…make sure you got to camp." Mr. Brak-, I mean, Chiron, said. He said it like there was something else he wanted to say, but didn't—or couldn't.

I frowned. "Is there something I'm missing? Like, WHY you're a centaur?"

Chiron sighed. Again, it was like he was keeping something a secret. That I wanted to know.

He sighed. Again again. "I'm going to put this bluntly. You're a demigod. This, is Camp Half Blood."

I stood there, stock still. Not daring to move, feeling as if I didn't move, it wouldn't be true. I mean, couldn't be true. It couldn't right? And yet, somehow, I guess I knew. That Chiron was for real, and wasn't playing a huge prank on an unsuspecting child.

"Sooooo, I'm half…god? Really? But how, I mean…" I trailed off. What was the most popular thing that the gods did in the myths? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.

Chiron nodded as if he understood what was going through my head. Then I thought for a moment. "You're not, THE Chiron, right? I mean, that's impossible, right?"

He shook his head, which looked a bit weird, with him being half horse and all.

"Oh." I decided to ask another question. "So who's my parent?"

"They will claim you. Percy Jackson, a demigod like yourself, made them promise to take better care of their kids and claim them by the time they were thirteen. Your mother should claim you soon." Chiron explained.

"They didn't before?"

"Ah, no. Gods can tend to be a bit, erm, forgetful, I should say. But they have held well to their promise. Now, let's see if Tanner can show you around camp." With that he galloped off and I followed, wondering who this 'Tanner' was.

* * *

As we jogged, or as in Chiron's case, trotted, I saw what I guess were the 'campers'. One was shouting at another, except not in English. I think it might have been Greek, or maybe Latin.

A few were shooting bows and arrows, and hitting a bulls eye every time, sometimes with more than one arrow. I thought that was weird, until we passed by the arena. I could make out two figures, a boy and a girl, sword fighting. I peered closer. _No, the girl is fighting with a knife. But the boy attacking with a sword. _They both seemed pretty darn good, like they had been doing this for years now. And I suspected they had.

Chiron stopped, and I wondered if the boy was Tanner. "Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, this is Ella. Do you happen to know where Tanner is?" A girl and a boy I hadn't noticed before were sitting at the edge of the arena.

The four kids walked up to me. Chiron introduced me. The girl with the knife was Annabeth, and she looked like she was in her early twenties. Her wavy blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her stormy gray eyes scanned me, as if trying to deduce my weaknesses. Which of I had plenty. Apparently, her mom was Athena. It made sense.

The boy who was good with the sword, was Percy Jackson, the one Chiron had told me about. He was fairly tall, with messy black hair and sea green eyes, but they were always changing like the sea. He too looked to be in his early twenties. His dad was Poseidon, not much surprise there.

The boy on the sidelines was Jason. He was strongly built, had fair hair in a buzz, and look to be maybe eighteen or nineteen. Oddly enough, he was introduced as a son of Jupiter, the roman name for Zeus. I made a mental note to ask Chiron about that later.

The last girl's name was Piper, and she was really pretty. Her mother was Aphrodite, but she looked pretty in a natural way. No make-up, hair in a hastily made ponytail, comfy old jeans and a tee, but it all worked for her. Like she wasn't trying, but she was still beautiful. She too was eighteen or nineteen. I hoped there were campers MY age.

After all the name and background information was given, Percy said Tanner had gone looking for Leo (another person I didn't know) in the bunker nine. He pointed the forest when he said that. Chiron thanked them and we headed off into the forest.

"So, Percy Jackson, he saved the world from the titan's? And Jason from Gaea?" I asked curiously.

"Not without help. Annabeth, Piper, Leo, Percy, Jason, Reyna, and Dakota helped defeat the giants. And the titan's all of the Greek and Roman demigods helped, even if they didn't know it."

"Wait? Roman and Greek?"

Chiron explained patiently. "The gods have different forms, one Greek, one Roman. Sometimes the mortals that fall in love with them fall in love with the Greek, not the Roman. And vice-versa. For the longest times the two sides fought, but a few years back, Hero or Juno, made a switch. She wiped Jason's and Percy's memories, and placed them at the opposite camp. To make peace. It was a risky plan, but it worked. They could only defeat Gaea if they worked together. Now the campers are mixed, some from both forms in each camp, otherwise another civil war might break out."

"So am I Greek or Roman?" I asked, as we passed into a denser part of the forest. The trees were growing so close together now, that sunlight couldn't pass through.

"We won't know until you're claimed." Chiron suddenly pulled out a bow and raised it. Before I could register what was happening, he let the arrow fly and a giant boar- like, the size of a car giant- melted into dust.

That brought me to another question. "Why do monsters turn into dust?"

"They don't have souls like demigods. Their 'essence' goes back to Tartarus and eventually reforms. So the same monsters keep coming back, and we need new half-bloods to fight them. "

"One last question for now." I told him, figuring I had asked enough to give him a headache.

"Shoot."

"Where are we going?"

Chiron stopped in front of a cliff, rock for mile high, and I don't know how many miles wide. "Here." When he knocked on the cliff face, I was beginning to think that he was going crazy, but then when the wall turned red. It creaked open to reveal a tall Latino demigod with unruly black hair. He grinned then extinguished the fire in his hands. Yeah, that's right. I said fire.

The shocked mush have showed on my face, because the kid said, "Hi. Name's Leo. Son of Hephaestus, can work fire. That pretty much covers it!" Leo had a grin on his face and seemed liked he liked a good laugh I just hoped it didn't involve pranking ME. He was around Jason's and Piper's age.

I shook his hand, which felt warm, and walked, in the bunker.

I think 'cavern' would be a better word. It was enormous. The ceiling was so high; I could barely make it out. Other tunnels and passageways lined the walls. Everywhere there were scattered pieces of projects, none of them looking finished. I turned around so as to take in it all, seeing what looked like plans for a war cloud, a prototype of some kind of robot thing, and a half-finished fryer. I tuned back in just in time to hear Chiron say, "—where he is?"

Leo replied, "Yeah, he's in tunnel B, section 436, looking at the new magical masts Nyssa drew designs for." Just as he finished, a boy, whom I assumed was Tanner, walked out of one of the tunnels and caught me looking bewildered and probably deranged. Great.

"Hey. Who's this?" Tanner asked Chiron. His voice had a soothing sound to it, yet also powerful and wild. A bit like the sea, I guess. I also noticed that he didn't ask ME, 'oh hi, my name's Tanner, what's yours?' Apparently, I wasn't good enough to tell him my OWN name.

Chiron's answer, which I liked, by the way, was, "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Tanner shrugged, as if he didn't really care. "Okay." He turned to me. When he did, I saw that he had Percy Jackson's eyes. Startling sea green. Maybe they were brothers. "What's your name?"

I smirked. "What's yours?" I know I already knew his name, but two can play at that game. Two can play at the game, indeed.

Then he smirked, but it looked all smug, and superior, not like which mine, which was a 'oh yeah?' kind of smirk. "Alright then. My name is Tanner. Son of Poseidon, half brother of Percy Jackson, on the godly side of course." The last part came out bitter, as if people were always comparing him to Percy. I guess it can't be easy have a brother that helped save the world—twice.

I held out my hand, "I'm Ella Read." I didn't offer another explanation. I was going to make his ask for it. He shook my hand. His hand felt callused, like he gripped a sword a lot. I also felt warm, and slightly sweaty. I grinned an evil grin. I'm pretty sure he knew what I was smiling at, because a blush rose on his cheeks. "Nice to meet you." He muttered.

I turned away, ignoring him, on purpose of course, and questioned, "So, Chiron, what now?"

"I have to go teach an archer's class, so Tanner will take you from here. Oh and Leo, Jason and Piper are in the arena with Annabeth and Percy, if you want to join them." Then he trotted off.

* * *

Tanner and I walked out of the woods and into the sunlight, squinting. Once my eyes adjusted to the light, I finally got a good look at Tanner.

He had dark brown hair that was messily arrange over his head. His eyes—like I said before—were sea green, a startling sea green. He was a few inches taller than me, and wasn't skinny, but definitely wasn't fat. In fact, it looked like he worked out a lot. Not that I would ever tell him.

Even on just the walk back, he acted like such a know-it-all. And, I had to ask some questions, I had a never ending supply of them. Oh, and I was right, he didn't like living in his brother's shadow.

I had asked him, "So Percy is your brother?"

He kicked the dirt with his foot and muttered darkly. "Yeah. He saved the world twice, has a great girlfriend, is amazing at sword fighting and can control water just fine. And everybody else expects me to be just like him, and are always comparing me to him. I hate it." I was surprised though, that he would tell me all that. Although, after that, all his answers were one worded. But the point was, I was right.

Anyways.

Tanner showed me the armory, where several big, buff kids were, well, forging armor. Then the lake, where some dryads waved at us, and the arts and craft's cabin, where a few pretty and prissy kids were cutting out decorations.

Finally, he started to talk again. "This is the weapon cabin. Come on inside, you'll need some armor and a weapon if you want to survive."

I hoped he was joking.

When we walked inside, I saw dozens of swords, daggers, guns and about any other instrument of death you could imagine. They were all normal except for one thing, they were all bronze. "Why are they all bronze?" I asked innocently.

An eye roll. "That's what kills monsters, mortal metal or steel won't hurt them. And celestial bronze won't hurt mortals. Half-bloods, however, can be harmed by both." Tanner stated dryly.

"Lucky us!" I joked. He cracked a smile. Tanner had a nice smile, lopsided, but cheerful; it made me want to smile too.

"Yeah, were so special, we get to be killed by monsters AND mortals! Yi-pee!" Tanner grinned. Then he pulled out a knife. "Hmmm, no. You're not really and knife person. Maybe…" He kept on musing to himself, trying to find me a weapon. "What about a dagger? No, that's shorter than a knife…hmmmm, a gun could work, but no….a sword?" He handed me one, and it felt okay, but not like I could, you know, defend myself with it. Tanner shook his head, and his brown hair literally went, _swish._ He took the sword back, and went back to muttering to himself. "Maybe a bow and arrow? No, no! That can't be right…what about—no that's stupid…maybe…" He trailed off. Again. Finally he handed be two blades, light but sharp. I liked the feel of them. Tanner said they were duel swords; you used both together, more as one blade then two. **(Avatar lovers, that was to you! If you like Avatar, you'll know what I'm talking about!)**

Tanner was looking at me strangely when I said, "I feel as if I could, you know, actually use them to defend myself with these."

I was just about to ask what was wrong when he commanded, "Put them flat together."

To my surprise, they fused together until they were—wait for it— a piece of duck tape. I know, weird, but let me explain. The piece of duck tape, bright blue by the way, had a piece of Velcro on it, so I could turn it into a bracelet. I put it on, then took it off, and it changed back into the duel swords.

Tanner grimaced. "My brother Percy has a sword like that, except it's a balled point pen."

Curious, I asked, "What weapon do you use?"

Tanner smiled again. His moods were like a tornado, I swear. "Come on, I'll show you."


	3. My mother forms a truce

**Sorry for taking so long…you know the reasons! I will try harder to get the chapters up sooner. **

**Thanks to all you that have reviewed! That you SO SO SO much! **

**Also, to clear everything up, the duel swords are from Avatar: The Last Airbender. :D**

**Disclaimer: Would I own Percy Jackson if this is a fan fic website? No, don't think so. **

**-Calypso C.**

As we headed out of the weapon shack, I put my new duel swords together, and put the duck tape bracelet on my wrist. So cool.

A breeze was blowing by, and the grass was as green as could be. I saw more campers now, as the day was beginning to fade. By the time we made it to the sword arena, dusk was falling.

Tanner instructed me to stand, _right here, _and not to move. So, I stood _right here_ and didn't move from that spot. Until he attacked me with a sword. He literally seemed to come out of nowhere. One second I was standing their minding my own business, then poof! Tanner appeared.

I guess my instincts took over at that point. I dodged his first blade, miraculously, and ripped off my new bracelet. Soon, I was holding two sharp edged blades, and was fighting Tanner.

Now, I had never fought before in my life, and I assumed Tanner had had a lot of training, even though he was my age. So, it wasn't a fair match. None the less, I didn't get sliced by his sword, which was pretty impressive. Then I realized I had fought with _both_ hands. Which was weird. Because I was left handed.

When Tanner finally stopped, he smirked and said, "That's my weapon."

"I'm surprised, I mean—" I stopped. I was about to say _because Percy uses one too. _But I didn't want his light hearted mood to go away.

Tanner shrugged. "I know Percy uses one, but I can too. It's the only weapon I really like, even if I have to stand in my brother's shadow." He grinned, and I was glad, his mood swings were starting to freak me out a little.

I nodded knowingly. Then I asked, "Why didn't I get sliced up by you? A) I should have not been able to dodge the blade, and b) I'm left handed. I fought with both."

Although his happy mood hadn't gone away before, he still seemed relieved to move on to a different topic. "ADHD, you can't sit still, it helps you survive in battle. I bet you have dyslexia too. You know why?" I shook my head. How did he know all this? "Your brain is hard wired for ancient Greek—or Roman, not English. As for the hand thing…" He shrugged. "You'll begin training tomorrow, but as for now…it's time for dinner." Just as he finished talking, a conch shell was blown and I could hear campers heading for the pavilion. Wow, he's on time, isn't he?

So we headed toward the pavilion too. When we got there I saw that it didn't have roof, just an open sky. Tables were lined up everywhere, and I saw campers part and head to a certain table. A lot of the kids at the tables had the same features.

I stood there, just kind of gazing around, until Tanner nudged me and whispered, "Ella, you'll sit with the Hermes's cabin. Their dad is the god of travelers, so until you're claimed, that's where you'll be."

I headed toward a table full of kids; most of them had upturned noses, or hints of mischief in their eyes, just the kind of face teachers' peg as trouble makers. As I sat down, two guys, who looked almost exactly alike, greeted me. "Hi!" One said. "I'm Travis Stoll." That reminded me, their dad was also the god thieves. The other one said, "Hey, I'm Conner Stoll."

"Are you guys' twins?" I asked, they look enough alike to be so.

"Nope," the one called Travis answered.

"Were just bothers!" Conner finished. Freaky. "Welcome to the Hermes's cabin."

I nodded, and nymphs came out with BBQ, pizza, mashed potatoes and a bunch of other good looking things to eat. Before any one ate though, we had to sacrifice the best of something (a roll, or piece of chicken for example) into the fire. When it was my turn, I prayed to my mom. _Hey mom, if you're listening right now…I want to know who you are._

After that we sat down and ate. I was sitting next to a girl named Melody, she was around my age, but had been here for three years. We talked, joked and laughed our way through dinner. I noticed, however, that some tables were empty. I knew that your 'mascot' (your parent) was what table you sat at and what cabin you were in, but that's not really fair for some. For instance, Jason and a girl named Holly were the only ones at the Zeus—or Jupiter— table. Percy and Tanner were the only ones at the Poseidon table. A few tables had no one, like the Hera and Artemis tables. But most were full and having a good time, the children of Ares especially.

Finally, dinner was over, and everybody headed to the campfire. I was hoping that my mom might claim me then. I hoped so, so much. As it turns out, the campfire glowed and changed colors depending on the mood and excitement of the camper. Tonight it was twenty feet high, and bright purple.

The Apollo cabin led the sing along. I didn't know any of the words, but I hummed along. Then, Chiron began passing out smores. Another man was sitting nearby. Tanner told me that he was the Camp director, assigned here as a punishment. His name was Mr. D, short for Dionysus. Our camp director was a god. Except, a bratty and spoiled one, apparently.

The smores were good, but I only ate half of mine, my stomach was too nervous to stand waiting anymore. Finally, the singing and eating was finishing up when everyone paused. Could I be being claimed?

I looked around. The campers, Chiron, the satyrs, even the dryads were all looking at Tanner. Of course, I looked too. At first nothing seemed wrong, or interesting. But then I started to notice a kind of glow, sea green. I didn't know what was happening, or why Tanner was glowing. All I knew was that I was glad it wasn't happening to _me_.

Looking back, I never should have thought that, I just jinxed myself. I was too late though, I was emitting a white light. I didn't feel different; I still looked the same, just with a white glow around me. I knew it HAD to mean something, I mean; everyone wasn't stopping to stare at pretty lights. I also had a question on my mind, why was Tanner lighting up too? He was already claimed. Wait, was I being claimed? Honestly I didn't know. I just stood there like an idiot.

Chiron stood speechless, shocked. And I could bet you not much of anything shocked a three thousand year old centaur who has been through two titan wars, a war with Gaea, and has trained thousands of heroes. But he was, shocked. Astonished. Bewildered.

Just before I could ask what was wrong, Mr. D said, "Oh yes, Athena and Poseidon have made a truce, Yee-pi. That makes my night so much better."

I frowned. Why would that be so weird? I thought back to all the myths I had read…oh. Right. The whole 'in the temple with Medusa thing' and the Athens sponsor gift, when they choose Athena over Poseidon.

I shuddered. What could be so bad that Athena would forgive—or at least make a truce with— Poseidon? I didn't want to know, but I had a feeling that I would get to know, and be a big part of it, in the very near future.

Then a thought struck me. My mom was Athena. My mother was Athena. My eyes opened as wide as they could go, the fire illuminating the flecks. I literally did not move a muscle until one of the Stoll brothers joked, "This war should be even better than the last two!" That startled me enough that  
I jumped.

Chiron just looked sad. My brows furrowed and I glanced at Tanner as if to ask, _what does this mean?_ He shook his mess of brown hair, apparently he didn't know anymore than I did.

The mood after that wasn't exactly cheerful. Soon enough the campers all left. Annabeth (who I learned was the senior counselor for the Athena Cabin) came over and silently guided me to my new home.

The Athena cabin was just the kind of place I love. It was filled with books, charts, paper (that looked like war plans) and maps all over the walls. Annabeth showed me my bunk, one near the door, handed me a toiletries case, and a pair of PJ's.

Soon enough she called lights out and I thought about the day. How where I was sleeping now was so different from my bed at home. Well, I guess this cabin is my home now. And how Tanner's mood swings are more sudden and fast than a fly. And how my mom was Athena. But only one thought accompanied me to sleep.

Something was brewing. Something big.


	4. Tanner saves my butt

**Hey yall. Sorry I took so long but….well, if you care you can look on my profile.**

**I just realized something. I'm a slow writer. Some of the fan fictions I read, the author's write, like, two chapters a night! It's crazy! It takes me over a week to write ONE, and then I read it, re-read it, and re-re-read it! So, again, sorry it's so late. **

**NEWS: I now have an account on fictionpress.n e t. So, you can look on there for stories too. They will be mostly about middle school, and will have a lot of my life in them. Just FYI. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson. Yet. **

**Here it is!**

**-Calypso C.**

Ever woken up and found a four hundred pound hell hound staring you in the face, while dripping slobber on your sheets? Well, for those who haven't, it isn't fun.

When I saw that big, black mess of fur, I let out a shriek so loud that it woke the entire Athena and Aphrodite cabins. I told them I was sorry, but they kept bugging me about not getting enough 'beauty' sleep. Then they said that I should get more 'beauty' sleep. Annabeth had to drag me back to the cabin before I chopped them into pieces.

Anyways, when I screamed, Annabeth came rushing over and said, "Nico! You just about gave Ella a heart attack! She's new, you know." Two thoughts were running through my head. Thanks, I don't need reminding, Annabeth. And, who's Nico?

I sat up in the PJ's Annabeth had given me last night, and looked around. I spotted a boy of eighteen or nineteen. I didn't have to guess who his godly parent was, it was pretty obvious. He was tall, and had olive skin, and was wearing all black. His shirt had skulls and zombies on it, and his black jeans were ripped. The leather jacket he wore looked worn, and to finish the outfit, a black sword hung by his side.

"Nico, this is Ella, Ella, this is Nico." Annabeth introduced us. "Nico is the son of Hades." Thought so. "Hi," I yawned, still tired. "What happened to that hell hound?"

Nico laughed. "Sorry 'bout that, Mrs. O'Leary can scare people sometimes. She's my and Percy pet."

There it was, _Percy._ The name had been said so many times that I was feeling over load. I managed a weak smile. "Yeah_…_well, I'm still kind of new to this whole thing."

He laughed again, and I decided he was alright.

The next thing I knew, Annabeth told me to clean up my bunk, and head out to the dining pavilion. Of course, the cleaning didn't take long at all because I had virtually nothing, and soon I was eating with the Athe-I mean, my cabin.

Breakfast was okay. My half-siblings had a lot of my same interest, but I was the only twelve year old there. The closest person to my age was fourteen. I didn't talk much, but by listening, I learned a few facts about camp, life at camp, and gossip.

STUFF TO KNOW ABOUT CAMP HALF BLOOD:

Percy is a great swordfighter, and it is not to be advised to go up against him in a fight until several extensive years of training.

Don't throw a water balloon at the son of the sea god next to the lake. Percy will always win. (I noticed that they didn't mention Tanner)

The Pegasus like sugar cubes.

Percy and Annabeth are going out.

Jason and Piper are going out.

Both couples were 'meant to be'.

The climbing wall shakes and will start to pour lava down the sides if you're not fast enough.

The Hermes cabin can get you _real_ soda, for a few drachma.

Capture the flag is on Fridays.

Wear armor when playing capture the flag or you'll 'get maimed like that newbie from the Hecate cabin'. Gulp.

* * *

After breakfast Chiron informed me that Tanner would tell me my schedule, which included archery, rock climbing, sword fighting, and arts and crafts. Tanner said archery was first, so I walked over there.

As it turns out, archery isn't my thing. I mean, I'm okay, but the Apollo kids were creaming me, and I accidently turned around with the bow loaded and…well, it wasn't pretty. Luckily, no one died, although a few beds at the infirmary were going to be occupied.

Arts and craft was extreme! Everywhere kids were building amazing stuff, like a giant replica of Aphrodite, or a sledge hammer made of celestial bronze.

I started this awesome replica of the camp. I built it out of clay and it was going to be really cool when I was finished. I even wrote down the scale factor to make sure everything matched up. Yeah, I know, total geekness.

As it turns out, rock climbing is one of my….talents. The first try I got up about half way before the lava started flowing down. I have the singes in my shirt to prove it. Today, might I mention, was a _very_ good day to wear an undershirt. The second time however, I made it to the top way before the lava came rushing down. I was really proud of myself. Even Tanner gave an impressed whistle.

Last, I had sword fighting. I walked into the arena with Tanner (who had two classes with me, this and rock climbing) and waited for the teacher to appear. A few seconds later, two demigods I recognized jogged in. The first was Melody, Hermes's daughter. The second was the girl Holly from the Zeus table. I waved 'hi' and introduced myself to her. "Hey, my name's Ella."

Holly grinned. "My name's Holly, daughter of Zeus." I didn't mention that I already knew that.

I nodded and smiled, waiting for the others to join us. Soon enough everyone had appeared, several looking worse than I did, with my burned shirt and all, and class had begun. As it turns out, Percy and Annabeth were joint teaching.

I wasn't sure how Tanner was going to react, but he seemed fine. I was fine with it. Might as well learn it from the best!

Annabeth taught fighting with a dagger, that's her specialty. Percy's, as I already knew, was with a sword. Percy began with coaxing up each demigod one at a time, to try a move on them. You were supposed to knock the sword out of our opponent's hand with the hilt of your sword, and it was a very advanced move. I had no idea why he chose this one to start out with.

Meanwhile, Annabeth was teaching some others about daggers, and how they are short range weapons. I was just beginning to wonder who was going to teach me, when another young adult sauntered into the arena.

Her hair was a honey golden, and her violet eyes shone. Her lips curved up in a pleasant smile, and her skin had an olive tone to it. She wore a simple white shirt and jeans shorts, but she looked stunning none the less. She seemed so balanced, so…harmonious.

"Hello. My name is Rain Amosoh, and I'll be teaching some of the more special weapons." The girl said. I looked around and saw Melody walk towards Percy, about to attempt the move, and Holly was with Annabeth. I looked around some more. Then turned back towards the girl of maybe sixteen or seventeen. "Hi…I'm Ella Read. Is that…just me?"

Rain smiled again and said, "Yeah. Not many people use duel swords. But they're...my talent, you could say. My mother is Harmonia, the goddess of harmony." She picked up and pair of duel swords, and showed me how to hold them better. After that, she taught me some of the basic moves, and defenses. Much too soon the lesson was over and it was almost time for dinner.

Rain said, "Bye, see you tomorrow." I couldn't wait for tomorrow.

* * *

Dinner was good, now that I knew who to pray to and all, and the soda in the never emptying glasses was good too, but there was a buzz in the air for capture the flag. As soon as dinner was over, Chiron called the cabins together and announced, "You know the rules, all of the woods is fair game, the creek is the boundary line, and no maiming or killing. I will be serving as a referee and a medic. Oh, and of course, all magical items are allowed."

With that, the Athena (my cabin) and the Ares cabin's came out with flags. I briefly wondered happened when another cabin wins the flag, because each was painted with their symbol, but guessed that it would magically change or something.

The teams were like this, in fact, I'll make a list.

BLUE TEAM:

The Athena Cabin

The Apollo Cabin

The Poseidon Cabin

The Zeus Cabin

The Hermes Cabin

The Nyx Cabin

The Hecate Cabin

The Hades Cabin

The Discordia Cabin

And the Nike Cabin

RED TEAM:

The Ares Cabin

The Aphrodite Cabin

The Hypnos Cabin

The Demeter Cabin

The Dionysus Cabin

The Hephaestus Cabin

The Nemesis Cabin

The Persephone Cabin

The Morpheus Cabin

The Hebe Cabin

The Iris Cabin

And the Harmonia Cabin

There are a lot of cabins. Apparently, only the twelve main Olympian had had cabins for the longest time. After the second Titian war however, they included the minor gods. New cabins were still being added to the plans, whenever a demigod of that parentage turned up.

My team straggled over a table filled with armor, and a half sister of mine (whose name I think was Julia) fitted me up with the right size. I also was 'granted' a helmet with a blue plume. The Ares team all had red plumes.

Then we started to head towards the woods. I asked Annabeth what I would be doing, and she replied, "The offensive front. You'll be going over in enemy territory, to capture the flag."

Great. Wonderful. Fantastic. I get to fight a battle with one day of training! Not.

Never less, I followed Annabeth, Julia and a few other kids deeper into the forest. I heard things rustling the leaves as wind blew through the trees. We hid our flag on top of a pile of rocks that looked a lot like deer dung, and then the conch blew. I struggled to keep up with the older kids.

We leapt over the creek and sped off into a darker part of the woods. In the distance I could hear fighting and yelling. This was one intense game of capture the flag.

Annabeth held out a hand in the stop signal, and we all halted. A boy in front of me, I pretty sure his name is Blake, whispered sarcastically, "They couldn't be quieter!"

I listened and sure enough, I could hear a few campers trudging and stomping through the woods like giants. I stifled a giggle. There was no way they were sneaking up on anyone.

We turned away from the noise, and headed around it. Once more, Annabeth held out her hand in the stop signal. I stopped. A sly smile crept onto her face, and she beckoned us forward. Wordlessly, she gestured through the trees, and we saw what she was smiling at. The Ares flag.

* * *

"What do we do now?" Julia asked hopelessly. My heart raced and I could feel excitement tingling all over my body. Perspiration dripped down my forehead. They only had four campers guarding the flag, which was the good part. The bad part was that the flag was perched at the top of an oak tree.

"This is simple. It's all in my plan."Annabeth reassured Julia (and the rest of us). "There is six of us, and four of them. Four of us will keep the four guards busy, one will climb and get the flag, and the other will be a lookout, and will help wherever needed.

Annabeth, Julia Blake and a kid named Theo, a boy from the Hades cabin, were going to fight. James, from the Apollo cabin, was going to be lookout. Guess who got the climb? I'll give you one guess.

If you guessed anybody but me you're wrong. If you guessed me, your right! Whoo-hoo.

I took a guess that Annabeth, or someone else who could relay the info to her, saw my performance on the climbing wall. So now I understood why she wanted me to come along.

On a silent _one, two, three, go_!, I ran to the tree and started shimmying up the tree. About ten feet off the ground, I heard a yell. I didn't look down, but started to climb faster.

Twenty feet, and I heard footsteps running to the clearing. I risked a look down and saw more red plumed enemies appear. _Uh oh, _I thought, _this isn't good._

I was not only about fifteen feet from the flag, and about thirty feet off the ground. It was a tall tree. I quickened my pace, and quickly covered the distance, scampering up the tree like a squirrel.

Finally, I reached the top. I grabbed the flag, and slid down, which was much quicker than climbing up, and got my first good look at the battle that was happening below me.

The blue team was outnumbered two to one, and of them had some sort of injury. Julia gave me a smile through gritted teeth, then mouthed _go_! I turned and ran, but not before looking back and noticing that the trunk of the tree was surrounded by leaves! This meant the Ares Team hopefully hadn't seen me, and I would get over the border.

The creek appeared ahead, gurgling softly. Just before I could jump over there, I heard a clang behind me. On instinct I whipped around and saw Tanner blocking a sword from a Nemesis camper that would have knocked me unconscious. Without another glance, I crossed the creak.

**I also have a question, for ya'll. Would you rather have shorter chapters up sooner, or longer chapter up later? Your choice. Please comment and say which! And, of course, REVIEW!**


	5. Two perfect seconds

**It's official. I'm obsessed with Avatar: The Last Airbender in general, but mainly Zuko. 'Cause he's awesome. And hot. And has the best hair ever. And so…bad/good. And, two of my other friends are in love with him to, so it's not totally wacko (only somewhat). **

**Okay, off topic. **

**Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. This. **

**-Calypso C.**

I was stunned, amazed. I heard cheering and whistling and then suddenly I was up high. They were carrying me. I had got the flag. I had won the game.

Then I thought of something else, or rather, someone.

Tanner.

He had saved my butt, there was no denying it. Why? I mean, I was on his team…but he still acts like he hates me sometimes…They should thank him too…

Then, suddenly, they set me down. At the pavilion. I glanced back and saw Tanner at the edge of the crowd. Smiling and waving like everybody else, except for the red team of course. I looked up and realized that the flag had changed, and it now sported a silver owl, Athena's symbol. And I knew tomorrow was going to be a good day, with or without dueling lessons.

After a tiring half an hour, I convinced a few kids from the Hecate cabin that I really had to go to the bathroom and could not stay and party anymore, and slipped off to the Athena cabin. I was two doors down from it, in the U-shaped area, when I noticed a bon fire for the first time. It was glowing bright red, and looked warm and inviting.

That's when I noticed a girl of eight or nine in the furnace! I let out a shriek but the little girl hushed me. "There is no reason to scream, I will not hurt you."

Still, my eyes were open wide and I scuffed my feet nervously against the dusty ground. Something about seeing a girl standing in a fire unnerved me. "Uhhh…hi?" I said lamely. Color rose to my cheeks but the girl just replied, "No need to be embarrassed."

Her hair was a pretty shade of brown, and her eyes were filled with a warm, welcoming fire, like the one she was standing in. She wore a simple dress with an apron, and I began to get an idea of who she was.

I paused hesitantly, unsure if what I was about to say would offend her. "You're Hestia…right? The goddess of…" I trailed off, not knowing what she was the goddess of (although it's kind of obvious, is it not?).

To my relief, she did not seem offended in the least and smiled warmly. "Yes, I am Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home. Not many people see me, Ella Read, only a few. Only a few." She repeated ominously.

I smiled sheepishly while scratching the back of my neck. Hestia's eyes just twinkled in what might have been amusement. I opened my mouth, to ask another question, when the goddess beat me to it. "I will leave now; I see that someone else would like the pleasure of talking to you."

With that, she started to glow and I closed my eyes, knowing that if I didn't I would be incinerated, while Hestia showed her true form, just like Melody warned me.

Once the light was gone, I turned around, only to bump into Tanner. "I'm so—I just wanted—I mean, I needed…" Tanner broke off with a sheepish but hopeful grin (there seemed to be a lot of those tonight. Sheepish, not hopeful).

I laughed and waved my hand in the air. "It's fine. Did you want to…talk to me?" I raised my eyebrows. Well, I think I did, I can never be sure without a mirror. And I would have looked like a prat looking at myself in a mirror right then, and I didn't have a mirror. But mainly the first reason.

Any who, Tanner nodded and did that swishy get-my-swooshie-hair-out-of-my-face-thing and put his thumbs in his pocket. "I was wondering if I could show you something. I think you'll like it." He added as an afterthought.

I smiled regretfully, and yawned. "Sorry, but I'm super tired, maybe tomorrow? I just, ya know…capture the flag wasn't exactly sitting around…and I'm sort of bruised…so…" I trailed off as he had moments before.

Then I realized I should thank him, for saving my butt (and not to mention my head and the rest of me, but particularly my head) in the game. "Uhh..well, thanks…you know! For blocking that sword…and all…" Why was almost every single conversation that we had in...Pieces? And pauses? And stuttering?

Oh. My. Gods. Did I just say thanks for 'blocking that sword and all'? I did.

For the second time that night I felt my cheeks turn red. I must have had a horrified expression on my face (again, because I don't look at myself in the mirror at times like this, only when I'm alone in the bathroom) because he gave me a easy going expression in return.

I shook my head, letting some of my hair fall in my face. I blinked. Was it my imagination or was Tanner getting closer to me? Glancing down I saw that I was not hallucinating. He WAS closer.

Do. Not. Panic.

Do. Not. Panic.

Calm down, I told myself. It's just Tanner. You've only known him since yesterday!

DO NOT PANIC.

I stared into his green eyes, and he stared into my hazel ones. His hand rested on my arm, and I felt a spark shoot up my spine. And everywhere else. His brown hair was in his face a little, and it was messy, but in the hot-cute way.

His hand reached up and brushed the hair out of my face, and I felt his hand touch my face. It tingled. I gave a soft smile.

Before I could say or do anything else, he turned and walked off into the night, leaving me very confused.

* * *

I stared at the ceiling of my bunk bed, and felt the spot where Tanner had touched me. On the face. In the dark. Then he had walked away.

Why did he walk away? He…we…I mean…that's rude! Right? It's not like I care or anything. I don't like him like him; it's just rude, and inconsiderate. I mean….

As you can tell, my thoughts we addled that night. Swarming all over the place and my dreams even more so. Tanner's face swam in front of my eyes, and I heard Annabeth come in to go to bed.

I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep, when I saw her walking over here in the dim light.

"Why Ella? She just came here…" For one wild second I thought she was talking about Tanner, but then I realized that no one knew what had happened, and that she had a boyfriend. "…and mom thinks she can do this by herself? A que—" Annabeth was interrupted from her musings when one of my half brothers entered the cabin. She silently slid across the floor and slipped into bed.

What had she just been about to say? Queen? Queer? Those didn't make sense…Quest?

Yes! That made since, demigods went on quests all the time. But why would I NEED to go on a quest? With only a few days of training?

I didn't have to look far for an answer. The truce that Athena had formed with Poseidon. Which made me think of Tanner.

I was thinking of a boy when there might be a war so big that my mother formed a truce with Poseidon and that I might be involved?

Stupid hormones.

* * *

I ducked, rolled, and knocked my partner's, in this case the boy named Theo from the Hades cabin, feet off the ground in one quick swipe. I stoop up sweating, but grinning too, proud at my defeat.

As it turns out, martial arts is a class you can take (it's also known as hand combat) at camp, so I had signed up. I thought, why not? And, the duel swords can be added into the martial arts moves, and vice versa.

Right now we were sparring (WITHOUT pads and helmets) and I just took down Theo, Tanner's best friend and the kid from capture the flag. I was using 'the sweep' (or, in more official terms, 'the hook kick') which knocked him off balance.

I offered my hand, and he took it. Once he was back on his feet he gave me a surprised smile.

"This is your what? Third day here? And the first day you took the class? Are sure you haven't done this before?"

I gave him a shrugged and said, "I took Tai quan dao as a kid, but I stopped about two years ago."

He nodded his head and his black hair flopped around. "I understand now." His blue eyes then got this really weird look in them. "I can see why he really—oops, never mined. Pretend that you never heard that? Okay?"

Weird. I just shrugged again and asked, "Wanna have another go?"

Beaming, he agreed, and we started circling each other like we were hunting the other.

"Where were you?" I asked a grumpy Tanner. He hadn't been a rock climbing today. Very odd, because he didn't like to miss out.

He rolled his eyes. "Percy," He growled in a mocking tone, "needed some help with a class." Tanner's features were contorted, and he looked furious. I mean, you-just-killed-my-dog-and-stole-my-girlfriend-furious. I know he doesn't like his brother all that much, but why would he be so mad for helping with one class?

I opened my mouth, and then shut it. Then opened it again. "Why are you so…angry?"

He gave me a glare. I gave an offended look. What had I done? He sighed and rolled his eyes again, but his face softened. Tanner seemed to consider for a moment then asked, "Do you really want to know?"

I pondered for a minute then shook my head no. I figured that if Tanner was asking that, than I seriously did not want to know.

At that, he laughed. It was nice to hear him laugh.

"I heard that you started martial arts, and you kicked Theo's butt. He wasn't too happy about that." Tanner joked. Again, with the moods! What is it?

I laughed too. "Yeah he was pretty surprised. But he won some of the time." I defended Tanner's friend.

"Keyword: some."

At this point I started laughing so hard I collapsed against Tanner, and he supported me. But only a few seconds after that, he dissolved into giggles too.

When Percy, Annabeth, Rain and the rest of the class entered, they found us on the ground, literally rolling with laughter. And the thing is, I don't quite know why we were laughing so hard. It really wasn't all that funny, yet, it was.

"Tanner?" Percy questioned, seeming surprised. Then Percy gave his little brother a searching look. Then glanced at Annabeth.

As our laughter subsided, I managed to crawl to my feet, and Tanner did the same. Then my face turned scarlet.

Oh joy.

"We…umm…well…" I stumbled.

Holly gave me a knowing look and cut in, "It's okay. Let's start the lesson."

The teachers, I guess that's what you would call them, took their appointed demigods, and I went with Rain. I pulled off my bracelet, and gripped my swords.

"Now, do you remember that defensive move? Try it against me." Rain instructed.

I held my swords up and they glinted in the sunlight. I took a deep steadying breath and closed my eyes for a second. I opened them.

With barely a second's warning Rain slashed her swords at me, and I parried them. Then, I was on the offensive. I hit one aside with one of my swords, then hit the hilt of her right duel sword with mine.

If done right, this move will have knocked the sword out of her hand, and I would have won, and she would have been at my mercy. But, as Rain was a much more experienced fighter, that is not what happened.

Instead, MY sword (although I'm not sure how it happened) got toppled to the ground. And I found myself seeing a glint of silver at my throat. I sighed. Maybe next time.

"Good job, you just need a bit more practice. Try again." Rain commanded.

Another sigh and I picked up my sword and tried again, to no avail. On the third time, I got closer, but Rain still had me beat.

Sweat glistened off my forehead and my eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. I took another swipe, got blocked and threw up my arms and weapons in despair. "Can we try another move?" I asked, clearly annoyed.

Rain raised her eyebrows questionably, but demonstrated a sharp jab, and hit. I mimicked what she did, and succeeded. I breathed out, feeling much better.

* * *

"So," I began, "exactly where are you taking me, Tanner?" We were walking down one of the many grassy hills at camp. This was the place he had wanted to show me last night.

"You'll see." He said mysteriously, raising his eyebrows, his sea green eyes gleaming.

"Oh, come on! Just tell me!" I demanded impatiently. But I wasn't really mad. I guess surprises were nice. It must be pretty darn cool for him not to tell me. At least, I hoped it was.

"Relax, we'll be there soon."

I rolled my eyes but followed him to the crest of yet another hill. "Now, close your eyes, no peaking." Tanner told me.

With another eye roll I put a hand over my eyes, and didn't peak. Even though I desperately wanted too.

I felt Tanner grasp my hand in his, and lead my over and down the hill. I stumbled over two tree roots, nothing, and my feet. All four times he caught me. I am sure, though, that my face was scarlet.

Finally, after that nerve wracking walk, we reached flat ground. "Can I open my eyes now? Please?" I begged.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, "Sorry, I forgot you can't see. I nodded yes."

I laughed. Why was I laughing so much around him? I think I'm going crazy. Oh. Wait. Crazier.

I took my hand away from my face, and dropped my jaw. Then gasped.

We were at a beach, and the sun was just sinking. It turned the whole sky red and orange and reflected off the clouds. It was a soft glow, and looked kind of like melted gold, quite in contrast to the sea.

The ocean was as smooth as glass, and matched Tanner's eyes perfectly. It changed colors on whim, and glistened in the setting sun. As it lapped at our feet, on the white sand, Tanner was beaming. "I thought you'd like it. It's one of my favorite places in the world. Percy comes here too; I guess it a connection with our dad. Makes us feel closer to him, and more calm and rational." For the first time, he sounded as if he didn't mind his brother, or that Percy didn't cast a giant shadow. His tone was just pure happiness.

I gave a smile. "I do like, no, wait, I love it. It's just…" I stopped talking.

Tanner shook his mess of brown hair and held my hand, his finger laced through mine. We sat down, and watched the sun set, talking about camp.

Just as the last rays went down, I rested my head against his shoulder. He didn't complain.

The starts were peeping out now, and we laid on our backs in the soft sand. Tanner's arm (pretty well muscled too) was around my shoulders. His other hand and mine were still tucked together, and we fell silent.

I wish I could have frozen time right then and just stayed like that forever. But I couldn't, so I did the next best thing. I took a mental picture of that moment in time. Tanner. Me. His arm around me. The ocean. The starts. The soft sand rubbing against my skin.

For two whole seconds, my world was perfect. And many people don't get any, so, looking back, I guess I was very lucky. Even with what happened after word.

* * *

**Oh and PLEASE review. See the button? Click it. Then type. Then post! See how easy that was? **


	6. I get carried like a rag doll

**Okay, sorry for being so mushy in that last part, but I was feeling very mushy and lovey-dovey. So, sorry, if that's not your thing. Also, I have finally the basic plot outline! Yipee! Just to let you know, that is really good for me. Normally, I just jump right in and play it by ear. Which normally doesn't work out that well. At all. **

**So yay! Any who, thanks to those few people who reviewed! I really appreciate that you are adding me to your favs or alert list, but I'd appreciate it ever more if you'd review! So just click that button down at the bottom!**

**Disclaimer: I kind of forgot to put this in when I posted it...so here it is now! Tanner, do the honors. **

**Tanner: Calypso C. does not own Percy Jackson. But, sadly, she does own me. **

**Me: Whatever, Tanner. I still control you! **

**Calypso C. **

The comfortable silence between Tanner and I was broken in a sudden crash. I jerked my head backwards and sat up. Also letting Tanner's arm slipping off my shoulders.

Tanner followed suit, and he also saw Theo standing there, on top of the hill. His eyes were wide open and his face was as red as mine had been when Tanner was catching me on that same hill.

Quickly though, he seemed to recover from his embarrassment. Lucky us.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg of bad news. Just the tip.

"Guys…there's trouble, you need to see Chiron NOW." Theo rushed out.

We hurried after him and climbed back over the hills, while I glanced at Tanner, wondering what in the world was going on. Surprisingly, Tanner looked more angry than panicked, which I am sure my face looked like. Theo face had turned red again and was trying to apologize.

"Listen…I'm sorry Tanner, and Ella, I didn't mean to interrupt your date, I mean, I know how much this meant to Tanner, but Chiron is really worried, and I'm sorry." Theo rambled on while we ran.

While looking over at Tanner I saw that his face was redder than even mine of Theo's had been.

Wait a minute… Did Theo say he knew how much it meant to Tanner? Awwwww, that's so sweet. But I can understand why Tanner was blushing.

Anyways, once we got back to the main part of camp, we headed towards the big house, all of us panting by now. We didn't even knock on the door, just rushed right into the hallway.

We dodged into the Rec room, and saw all the head counselors sitting there, Annabeth, Percy, Clarisse, Holly, Leo, Piper, Jason, Nico and a bunch of other people I didn't know by name, along with a tall fifteen-ish old girl with spiky black hair, a death to Barbie t-shirt and, oddly enough, a silver ringlet in her hair which did not match the rest of her outfit. And of course Chiron.

"Erm, hi? Uh, Theo said that you needed us…so we came…" I stumbled.

Chiron nodded his head and we (Tanner, Theo and I) sat down at some of the chairs around the ping-pong table.

Chiron looked sad, and seemed to be holding in a grimace. When you think about, that really can't be good, because, as a trainer of heroes, how many could have he seen die? The answer: a lot. "As we all know, except for Thalia of course, a few nights ago Ella here got claimed. However, in the process, Athena and Poseidon made a truce –"

Before he could continue the punk rock girl cut in. "What? They made a truce? Why? How is that even possible?"

Chiron mildly looked on and waited until she was finished ranting. "—Through Ella and Tanner. I have an idea…but let's hope I'm wrong. It has come to my attention though, after pondering it for a few days, that since Athena sent the message through Ella, that she is the one."

I blushed and slouched down lower in my chair as murmurings filled the air. Mostly, I noticed, they were confused, but a few people, like Annabeth and Percy, kept glancing over to me with pity.

Fun.

Not.

Chiron stamped his hooves and everyone got quiet, and he continued, "Also Annabeth, Percy, Piper, Jason, Leo and Clarisse, are resigning from being head counselors, and are going to live outside of camp year round. At the end of this summer, they will leave. One more thing on this topic, Annabeth has an announcement."

Annabeth and Percy stood up and Annabeth started talking. "Well…I really don't know how to say this but…we're getting married! Athena and Poseidon never would have allowed it before, but they have a truce now and as demigods we are very lucky to live to the age of twenty-two, and we just finished college…"

Tanner mumbled, but Theo and everybody else started clapping loudly, and did not seem as in shock as I was. I mean married? I don't know why I found it so weird. I just did.

After a very long ten minutes people began to sit back down, and Chiron looked sad again. "Lastly, for real this time, I think Ella needs to see the oracle. However, as the oracle is still at college and won't be back until the tenth of June, we will have to wait a few weeks. In any case, this will give Ella time to train." After that he told us the meeting was over and people started crowding around Annabeth and Percy, but I shot out of there like a rocket, and ran.

And ran. And ran. And ran. I don't know how long I ran, but I knew why. I had to get away from all that. All the pressure.

I mean, two days ago I found out that I was demigod, and monsters and all the Greek and Roman gods are real, and I met the first boy who ever saw me as more as a friend, and now they expected me to fight some ancient evil force? Not to mention I learned that my mom didn't run off on us.

That can give a twelve year old girl a lot to think about and I needed a break. Finally, after what seemed like hours, I flopped down somewhere. I don't know where, I had lost track of where I was going, but I didn't care.

I was at the bottom of a hill and a clearing. There were trees all around me, and the grass was soft. The wind whispered at me, and the stars still gleamed. It was hard to believe that not an hour ago Tanner and I were sitting on a beach, together.

I laid down for I don't know how long. At some point, I began to cry. The air was warm, and I felt sleepy. So, I fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up to blazing sunlight, and a face staring at me. I blinked, and rubbed my eyes. What had happened? Oh yeah. I ran away from the meeting.

I shook my head and focused on the face in front of me. Wait, the two faces in front of me. Tanner and Theo.

Of course.

I sat up and stretched. Sleeping on the hard ground does not do wonders for you. At all.

"You okay, Ella?" Tanner asked, a hint of worry in his tone. He reached out his hand to help me up. I took it. Normally, I'm not one of those oh-my-gods-he-just-touched-me girls but I felt a spark fly up my arm. As I got up Theo commented, "Yeah, he was worried sick. I thought he was going to die. Oh, and Chiron was pretty worried too, along with the rest of the camp. They thought you might be eaten alive by monsters." Theo's tone was light and joking.

Once I was up Tanner slapped Theo, pretending to be angry.

"Where am I? And what time is it?" I asked.

Theo replied first. "You're in still in camp. Just in one of the many spots. About nine, but we got here much earlier." At that he grinned and jerked his head toward Tanner. Tanner, once again, blushed.

"You were watching while I slept? How stalker-ish is that, Tanner?" I said accusingly.

"Exactly what I told him, but he wouldn't listen, all he—" But he was cut off. Tanner, redder than a tomato, and his eyes furious, whipped around and held his fists clenched at his side. "Will you stop that Theo?" He asked with an edge in his voice.

I raised my eyebrows in concern. "Relax, he was just joking." I informed him, while slipping between the two, and firmly putting my hands on Tanner's shoulders and softly pushing him away. "And Theo, don't provoke him, I know you two are best friends, but still."

Looking back, I still can't believe I had the guts to do that. Normally, I would never start pushing a guy away, I would be too embarrassed. But things had changed. A lot.

"Sorry Theo, I guess I over reacted a little." Tanner apologized, his brown hair settling down softly on his head. In turn Theo said, "Sorry for provoking you bud, I promise only to do it when necessary." Both Tanner and I rolled our eyes and started jogging back to camp.

"Wait for me!" Theo yelled as he chased us back.

* * *

Over the next two weeks, I trained, and trained hard. Soon, I was getting really good at my duel swords and Tai Kwon Dao. I could beat Theo five times out of ten, although he would say otherwise.

I also kept climbing the rock wall, and continuing making my model of camp. But I also found time for hanging around with Theo and Tanner, and started to really get to know them.

Theo actually was really funny, and loved to tease Tanner. He was easy going and cheerful. He could make anyone laugh.

Tanner was the same as ever. Sweet, funny, fun to talk with and had mood swings like girls change clothes. Really. And our relationship was just friends. Which was kind of weird, since I thought (well, hoped) that we would be together after the beach. But that's okay. I guess. I can wait.

I noticed this but we kept getting into these really dumb arguments and competitions, like the Tai Kwon Dao ones with Theo. For instance, he kept teasing me about how I never changed my hairstyle, and so I shot back at him that he hated his older brother. It kept getting more and more heated until Theo stepped in and joked until we cooled off. But really, my hair? What's wrong with my hair? I like my braid.

I asked Theo that after Tanner had walked away and he said with a surprised look on his face, "Nothing. Tanner didn't mean that." And then HE walked away. Boys!

And then every day Tanner and I raced to the top of the climbing wall. And in the arena we fought each other and kept score. I had won eight times and he had won nine times. But whatever.

We really did become good friends though, and, they only mention the quest once. I just stared at them warily and asked if we could not talk about it. Thankfully, they dropped it and didn't bring it up until the tenth of June.

That morning I got this queasy feeling in my stomach and didn't eat any breakfast. After breakfast I skipped all my lessons and went to the clearing. I had gone several more times. It was a place where I could think and relax.

That's where Tanner and Theo found me. They had known me by then, and knew that that was where I would go. Theo even had smuggled some toast for me, but I told him I wasn't hungry. Because I wasn't.

"Ella, come on. It won't be that bad. At least the oracle isn't a mummy anymore! It's just Rachel. Relax!" Tanner tried to sooth me. It didn't help.

Theo method didn't work either. "Come on, you can face me in sparring but you can't face a lousy oracle? That's just messed up."

"You're not helping." I moaned.

"Come on! We need to go see Chiron now." Tanner demanded.

I didn't budge.

Tanner and Theo glanced at each other, and Tanner grabbed my legs, and Theo grabbed me by the arms and started carrying me back toward the main part of camp. "WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING YOU BIRD-BRAINS! PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "I'M GONNA MURDER YOU TWO! IF YOU DON'T STOP, RIGHT NOW, HEY! WATCH IT! THAT HURT, I'M NOT A RAG DOLL YOU KNOW. DON'T YOU DARE SWING ME BACK AND FORTH! STOP THAT! NOW! YOU TWO IDOIT BUMBLE KELP HEADS!"

I think you get the general idea of what happened there. Afterwards, Theo claimed hi s eardrums would never be the same. Too bad, so sad I said as I punched him in the shoulder, along with Tanner.

They did get me into the big house though, and Chiron had come outside to see what the racket was. "Well, that's one way to get her here." He commented.

Once inside he told me to go to this mountain side cave, Tanner would show me the way, and Rachel would explain the rest. If I accepted the quest that is.

I looked around. I didn't want too. What if I messed up? What if I got people killed?

But then I thought, how could I NOT do this. They were counting on me. ME.

I couldn't let them down. "I accept."


	7. Hope is lost and I have to find it

**Okay and no judgie! I am horrible at making up prophecies, so just bear with me! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own this, although I have concocted a plan that involves three purple dinosaurs, a hot air balloon, one ice cream sundae, and the president, to get the rights to Percy Jackson. **

**-Calypso C. **

We stopped outside a cave in the forest. The entrance was decorated with purple drapes, and tiki torches, while on the inside I could also hear music blaring. I gulped.

"Go on Ella, you'll be fine." Tanner urged me. When I didn't move he gave me a little push. I shot him a glare.

"Don't you start that again, fin face," I growled menacingly. He raised his hands in defeat and said, "Sorry for trying to help! Just GO!"

Rolling my eyes (and then not feeling quite so brave) I pulled back the curtain and stepped inside.

The inside was not at all what I expected, even though I wasn't sure what I expected, it was not this. Dance Dance Revolution stood to my right, and a few other arcade games were pushed up against the walls. Comfy sofas and chairs crowed the cave, and the floor was covered in rugs. Pillows were carelessly placed on the furniture and on one of the few tables had a purple lava lamp on it. A few other lights cast a faint glow on the room, and I saw a red-haired woman in her early twenties sitting on one of the high backed chairs.

"Hello." She said cheerfully. "I guess you're Ella? I'm Rachel."

I froze then mumbled something like, "Well, yeah, I'm Ella. Nice to, er, meet you. "

"Well, sit down! And tell Tanner to get away from the entrance, he can't hear the prophecy, not unless you tell of course." The curly-haired women asked.

"Tanner, get away from those curtains! Now!" I yelled. I heard the scuffling of feet as he backed away. Then I turned the oracle. "How did you know he was there?"

"I'm the oracle." She waved her eyebrows mysteriously. I looked at her in disbelief.

"Okay fine, it's something Percy would do, I mean; I've known him for a long time. And Tanner, whether he likes it or not, it a fair amount like Percy." She admitted.

I nodded my head in agreement. "I guess you heard about Annabeth and Percy getting married?"

"Of course! I am so excited for them!" Rachel gushed. "But back to business. Just ask me the question, and we'll get started."

I paused then said, "What is my quest?"

Green smoke tumbled out of her mouth and I bit back a scream. It started to sweep across the floor and up into the air. Then a whispery voice rang out,

_Across the globe three shall seek,_

_The seven atuxia's they are to meet,_

_One for each mass of land,_

_And they will give a helping hand,_

_To getting back man's last hope,_

_And you will have to cope,_

_With all the dangers of the past,_

_And beware because each breath you take may be your last. _

What the heck are atuxias? And man's LAST hope and each breath I take may be my last? Well, that doesn't sound too good. Are all prophecies this…deadly? I knew I shouldn't have done this! I'm going to get people killed! Why, oh, why did I accept? I'm going to let everybody down. I'm going to fail.

The green smoke stopped, and Rachel opened her eyes and yawned, "Was it too bad?"

"But…you just said it!" I informed her.

"Well yes…but no. That was the oracle. I have absolutely no idea what I just predicted. So I hope you can remember it."

I laughed nervously. "I don't think that's going to be the problem."

Rachel just looked at me curiously and waved me out. "Bye!"

As I stepped outside the cave the bright sunlight glared in my eyes. I looked around for Tanner.

"Are you okay…you look pale." Tanner told me.

"Well, the prophecy…" And then, I collapsed. Only for a few seconds. I guess from the prophecy. But by that time Tanner was already trying to pick me up. I say trying because I was laying on the ground, and I almost his size.

"Tanner, I'm fine, I just fainted for a few seconds—" I protested (although really, I didn't mind too much).

"Ella, you are NOT fine. Just relax." Tanner said. So, he finally he did get into a position where he could pick me up, and he did.

Okay, I'll admit it, I was pretty tired and worn out and really didn't feel like I could walk back to the big house. At some point I put my head on his shoulder, and gazed at the trees. Then suddenly I was asleep.

"Ella, you have to wake up now," Someone softly whispered.

"Let me try, ELL—"

"Shut your mouth Theo! You don't need to scream, she's waking up."

I opened my eyes and saw Annabeth's and Theo's faces looking down at me. I groaned. For two reasons, one I was still in Tanner's arms and therefore Theo would take that as an opportunity to tease us, and two because of the prophecy.

Tanner gently set me down on my feet and I gave him a look that begged 'please don't let me go in there!'

He didn't listen. Just gave a small smile.

Yeah, thanks Tanner.

I took a deep breath and headed towards the Rec room. I sat down and everyone else followed. Tanner sat on my right, while Theo sat on my left. Thalia entered (and I still didn't know who she was) and sat down across from me.

"Lady Artemis and the Hunters will need me back soon. I'm leaving as soon as the moon rises." Thalia informed us.

Oh, I guess I knew. She was one of Artemis's Hunters. I had heard about them.

Then Chiron spoke, "Ella, what did the prophecy say?"

I gazed hesitantly around the room. I closed my eyes and started chanting it.

"Across the globe three shall seek,

The seven atuxia's they are to meet,"

"Are you sure that's a thing and you just didn't hear it wrong? 'Atuxia' doesn't sound like a real word." Travis Stoll cut in.

I looked at him irritably and said, "That's what Rachel said! I don't what it is…but that's what she said."

"The atuxia's are what were released from Pandora's Pithos. There are seven; Death, illness, greed, revenge, hubris, famine and drought, and hate." Chiron said.

I frowned. "That's eight."

"Oh, but famine and drought are one."

I rolled my eyes and continued.

"One for each mass of land,

And they will give a helping hand,

To getting back man's last hope,

And you will have to cope,

With all the dangers of the past."

I broke off there. I really didn't want to say the rest. I mean, who in their right minds would want to come? Knowing that I was putting them in danger? I grimaced. I had no idea what to do, and I think I couldn't do this. But, I had too.

"Uh, well, that's about it!" I said much too cheerily.

Chiron gave me a searching look. "Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"Alright then, I think the quest is pretty clear. Ella and two others will have to find a relic of each atuxia, one on each continent. That is the only way to get hope back into Pandora's Pithos. And without hope…well, people won't start feeling hopelessness until exactly on the winter solstice. The darkest day of the year." Chiron said.

"Wait a minute," Percy cut in, "How did this god or demigod get Pandora's Jar in the first place? Hestia has it!"

Chiron shook his head sadly. "I do not know. But Ella, if you don't have hope back in the Pithos by the winter solstice, then everyone, everywhere will lose hope. Nobody will have the will to go on; the human race will be destroyed."

Wonderful.

"And you will need two companions." Chiron reminded me.

"Tanner and Theo." I said without thinking. "I mean, if they want to come."

"Are you kidding me? Of course I want to come! You'll need some laughter to keep your spirits up." Theo said.

So true.

"Come on Ella, you didn't think we would leave you all alone did you? Besides, I have barely been in the outside world. I could use the training." Tanner said.

I grinned. Maybe the quest wouldn't fail. Not with my two friends alongside me.

* * *

**Sorry for the really short chapter, but I kind of got writers block and didn't really know how to continue. And please, forgive me for the terrible prophecy. And hey, guess what? I JUST realized this (really, like two seconds ago) if you take away three letters from propehcy, you can make the name Percy! Cool, huh? **


	8. A Harpy Eats Tanner

**Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Or whatever you celebrate, Happy Holidays! :D**

**I love the holidays. Plus, two weeks off from school! Whoo hoo! Here's the new chapter, I am very sorry I was being lazy! Please feel free to pelt me with watermelon.**

**Disclaimer: For the last time, I DO NOT own Percy Jackson! **

**A note: I jammed/stubbed/sprained/bruised my left pinky finger playing basketball (we did win though). So, it's kind of hard to use the q, w, e, a, or z keys because my pinky finger is taped to my ring finger. **

**I noticed that I often accidently change tenses in some sentences, so please ignore that. I'm not really good at that kind of stuff. I just get so confused about when and when I shouldn't….so yeah.**

**One more thing; recently the purple dinosaur I mentioned earlier is now named Merrisa. She is helping me write stories! She would like me to inform you that she wants to write something where someone dies or gets hurt. NO! Not **_**that**_** person. I like them. Can you choose someone else? Hey, I have veto. Yes, completely. NO! Don't you dar-**

_Hi. This is MERRISA. I have taken control over her computer! Mwhaa! Let's see…I think that I shall have Tanner die…yes, he's too much of a goodie two shoes-_

**Sorry about that, Merrisa can get out of control sometimes. Now, go to your ROOM! Now! Ha. She went! Hope you like the chapter!**

**-Calypso C. **

The train jostled me awake as we went around a curve. I slowly opened my eyes and blinked. The damp, old interior of the train was dark, and I could just make out the person sitting across from me. I was sitting in the middle of Tanner and Theo, although Tanner had left to get some food before I had nodded off.

The wall paper on the train caught my eye. It was pale pink with dark roses, and would have been pretty if it hadn't been in such bad condition. It was all torn and just…old. And smelly. Oddly enough, it smelled like old lady perfume, the kind my grandmother wore. Like dust and age old peaches.

Weird.

The train rounded another curve and Tanner was back with sandwiches and fries. At the smell Theo awoke.

"Mmmm…food! Thanks Tanner, you're the best!" He said while slapping his friend on the back.

I rolled my eyes. Before I had fallen asleep, I had tried to wake Theo up for ten minutes, and nothing! But of course, food. Boys.

We each took our sandwiches and fries and sat there eating. Completely silent. This may not seem weird to some people, but Theo is NEVER quiet, even when he is sleeping he snores really loud!

I glanced over at him and said, "Eww Theo! You aren't going to die in a minute. You don't have to chug it in." Really though, it was pretty gross. Food was flying everywhere, and he was sucking it up like a vacuum cleaner. I ducked as chewed up French fries came my way. Then he turned and looked at me and tried to say, "What? I'm just eating."

But, "Gah? Ifuar Freahy." Was all that came out. Ick.

"Can you chew with your mouth closed? Please?" I asked. Tanner backed me up.

"Come on man, that's just nasty. Even satyrs don't eat like THAT." Apparently, satyrs have a thing for food.

Theo grumbled but his food consumption slowed down dramatically. Ahh, no flying bits of food. Close as I could get to peace while traveling with two boys.

Tanner plopped down next to me. "So, Ella, exactly what did Chiron tell you?"

Oh boy. Now I have to explain. Well, here goes nothing. "He said that each atuxia had a continent, and that North America's (he thinks it's greed) is in LA."

Theo cut in, now finished eating. "So we have to find a 'relic' of greed. Hmm…what's a relic of greed?"

"It could be the result of something someone did for greed? Like…a dead body? Or a bunch of non-honest earned money? Or maybe-"

I snapped at Tanner. "There is no dead body!" I guess I was feeling a bit tense.

Theo and Tanner shared a glance.

I hate it when they do that.

"Sorry, I'm just a little nervous I guess, and I don't really know what to do and what about Antarctica? What in the world could be on Antarctica?" I rambled. I probably would have continued if Tanner hadn't sat down next to me, took my hand, kissed me on the cheek, and then said, "Relax."

How could I relax when he just KISSED me? Does that boy know how a girl works at ALL? How was THAT supposed to CALM me down? Huh? I ask you how?

I think I was stressed.

Instead of voicing my thoughts, I just stared at Tanner. And, of course, Theo commented.

"Tanner and Ella, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then come the baby in the baby carriage!" Theo chanted very loudly.

Both Tanner and I flushed deep red. Looking back, I had blushed A LOT these past few weeks.

Anyways, I shot Theo a glare, but he gave an innocent smile and said, "What did I do?"

Then Tanner said, "Dude! What do you have to go around making fun of me and Ella for? I only did it so she would calm down…" He trailed off realizing what he just said.

I started breathing very quickly and felt like I was going to cry.

Really? Did he really just say that? What about the beach?

Tanner started to talk, "No, I didn't mean that, I mean, I did kiss you to get you to calm down, but not because, I mean no, that's not what I meant, I meant-"

But I didn't wait to hear what he had to say. I stomped off, crying, into the bathroom at the end of the train.

* * *

I don't know how long I sat there. Ten minutes. An hour. Two.

All I knew was that I was mad, no, furious, at Tanner. What I really wanted to do was go back out there and slap him silly but I didn't.

I just sat there on the toilet seat.

But sometime between ten minutes and two hours Theo came and knocked on the door.

I didn't let him in.

He knocked some more, yelling about how he was going to break down this door and get me out of there, and how sorry Tanner was.

But Tanner should have had the guts to apologize himself. Not to send his best friend to do it for him.

After a while Theo went away, and I discovered why. The train had stopped. We were somewhere in Ohio, just making a quick stop. Unfortunately though, this train only took us a far as Missouri.

Anyways, I felt like I should step out and take a breather, you know, get away from Tanner. Plus, the bathroom really didn't smell all that great. So once I heard the doors opened with a swoosh, I was out of there.

Once outside I looked around. This was my first thought: We're in the middle of nowhere.

Seriously. The platform I was standing on, the roof above the station, the train, and a set of tracks going each way, was the only thing besides vegetation that I could see (probably with a telescope too).

Not to say is wasn't pretty, it was, but it was kind of daunting…

Rolling hills, forest-green trees, fields with flowers—something out of a fairytale. In fact, it did have a strange magic like quality to it…

Then suddenly a giant Tanner appeared out of nowhere, and was mocking me. Then a harpy (a cross between a bird and a woman, and quite ghastly and horrid) flew into the scene and started to eat Tanner.

I might be warming up to her.

Then, my dad appeared, but he was danger, because a dragon that looked similar to my dog was squeezing him like a python.

With a jolt, I woke up.

Strange dream.

* * *

Theo sat between Tanner and me on the only available bench on the platform (which, contrary to my dream, was in the middle of a busy city). I glared at the train, as if somehow it was its fault that Tanner had said what he'd said.

I was still mad at Tanner, if you didn't pick up the hint.

Theo was joking around and trying to make peace, but neither Tanner nor I said a word, to Theo or otherwise.

I wasn't sure why HE was mad. I did NOTHING to him! HE was the one who said that he only kissed me to get me to calm down, not because he liked me.

I mean…I guess he didn't actually say he didn't…and he did appeared hurt…and what about the beach? He must like me. He must have misspoken.

I'll bet he was feeling pretty miserable right now, regretting what he said. Maybe I'll ask him for his side of the story and possibly forgive him.

But a sickening sweet, fake voice interrupted my train of thought. "Tanner darling! How nice to see you! We haven't seen each other in forever."

I whipped my head in the direction of the voice and found myself face to face with a girl my age.

The girl standing in front of me was just shorter than Tanner, had waist length honey colored hair, and startling violet eyes.

And she was really pretty and developed.

Tanner glanced at me for one second, then stood up and hugged the girl. "Bella, it's really great to see you again, but what are you doing here?"

At this point Theo stood up too and yelled, "Yo, Tanner, who's this?"

"Bella, a friend from school…before I, uh, transferred." Tanner replied.

Theo raised his eyebrows. I glared at Bella's back in fury.

"Hi. I'm Theo, Tanner's friend, and this is Ella." He gestured to me.

The girls smile disappeared for a fraction of a second when she saw me, but then it was back, as bright as ever.

Tanner and Bella started talking like crazy, and Theo was talking to me, but I was just seething. My teeth were clenched and my hands were stiffly by my side.

Finally after a LONG ten minutes, I told Theo I was going to get a soft pretzel. The line took forever, but finally I got a cinnamon-sugar giant soft pretzel.

If I only had some chocolate, then my therapy would be complete.

Yum.

I walked back down to the bench and almost dropped my delicious treat from shock and rage.

Tanner and Bella were on the bench. Making out. Very deeply.

My mouth stood open for a few seconds, I coughed. Loud.

I didn't know where Theo was, probably in the men's room.

But my cough disturbed then enough so Tanner opened his eyes (he was facing me) and stop kissing that wretched girl for a second. In turn she opened her eyes, wondering why he stopped.

I started breathing very loudly, and most likely had this look like I was going to slice him into pieces, because Tanner got up, and started back away, hands up. Bella followed her eyes wide with shock at my face.

Good. She ought to be scared.

I took a step forward. "What's this all about, Tanner?" I spat out the last word with as much venom as I could.

He glanced around, looking for an escape route. "Well, I, uh…I knew her from school…my old school, before, you know, I, uh, transferred to, uh, well, you know."

"And-were-you-dating?" I asked, my teeth clenched again.

"Well…no."

"Then what in the world are you doing KISSING HER?" I yelled, malevolence in my eyes, and hands, once again, clasp tightly at my side.

His face just turned pale.

Then _Bella _spoke up. "He can kiss whoever he wants."

If Theo hadn't come running over and slowly slide between me, Tanner and Bella, she probably would have been dead within two minutes. Well, not really. Just seriously maimed. "Calm down Ella. What's all this yelling about 'kissing'?"

"Tanner has decided," I practically spewed, "That he wants Bella to be his girlfriend. He's decided that he wants to make out with her. By all means, Tanner, go ahead!" I finished sarcastically.

Theo eyes widened and he shook his head, his mess of black hair going everywhere.

I couldn't take it anymore.

Not at all.

Without another word, I pounded back onto the train.

* * *

**Okay, I guess the whole thing with Merrisa saying Tanner was goody-two-shoes inspired me to make Tanner do this, but, I swear, I wrote that before I wrote the chapter. :D**

**Another note: I'm sure you must hate Tanner right now, and I hated him too, when I was writing this. **

**R&R, PLEASE! **


	9. Monkey Attack

**I guess I should mention how to pronounce 'atuxia'. Well, it's Greek, but the Greek pronunciation is…well, REALLY hard to say. So the closest I can get is 'ox-t-ee-ah'. It's pretty similar. **

**And SORRY for all the delay. You know Winter Break and all of that kept me kind of busy, but anyways! Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: Ugg. I have to say it AGAIN! Fine. I don't own Percy Jackson. Happy? **

**-Calypso C.**

* * *

The way I felt right then was almost indescribable. How could I express what I felt? I couldn't just start singing like they do in movies and Glee.

I'd look like a freak.

All I really wanted to do was crawl into my bed, hug all my childhood stuffed animals and cry my heart out into my Pokka-dotted pillow.

But I couldn't really do that.

So I did the next best thing. I took another door off the train, and went to find an ice cream vendor.

I ordered a double fudge sundae. It had two scoops of chocolate ice cream, a brownie, yummy fudge sauce, about a pound of whipped cream, and lots of rainbow sprinkles.

I sat there eating it, when Theo came up and sat next to me. "You know, Tanner really likes you."

A tear dripped down my cheek, plopping onto my jeans. I shook my head and clamped my mouth shut, so I wouldn't let out a wail.

"I can't tell you how many times, after you arrived at camp, that Tanner came to my cabin telling me about something you said, or did. He would go on like that, in a sort-of daze, and tell me how pretty you are. He really does like you. I know he does." He said.

"But then why, did, did, he kiss, her?" I struggled to say.

"I don't know." Theo ran a hand through jet black hair. "But I do know that he's probably feeling ten times worse than you are."

I shook my head again. I didn't believe it. There was no possible way he was feeling worse than I was. I was sad, angry, and furious, confused, startled, sugar high, scared, nervous, and jealous all at once.

I took one last bite of my ice cream, set it down beside me, and put my head down on the other seat. But first I pulled my hoodie out of my bag, and put the hood over my head. I always had felt protected from anything with a hood over my head. I felt hidden.

I closed my eyes, and I heard Tanner come in. He sat down beside Theo.

I couldn't fall asleep.

I sat up, my face still hidden by my hood, and looked out the window at the scenery passing by.

Trees. Trees. Tress. Rock. House. House. Trees. Pond. Trees. House. Rock. Trees.

That went on for several hours, while I tried to sort out my thoughts.

I didn't succeed.

Instead, my head was just spinning full of questions, and I wanted to cry again.

I just kept staring out the window, though.

We passed by a river, and I swear I saw a long, sparkly tail show.

I saw owls fly by the train, and do loopy-doops.

Once it started to get dark, I saw my puffy, red, and disheveled reflection.

Great.

* * *

In the morning we arrived in St. Louis, Missouri.

I have to say, it was a really pretty city. There were parks everywhere, and despite my mood, it was sunny and cheerful. It was like New York City, except with a lot less tall buildings, and was ten times harder to navigate. We hopped off the train and wandered around for a bit.

I guess I should mention that I walked twenty feet ahead of Tanner and Theo (I never liked to walk behind anybody slower than me, it annoyed the heck out of me) and paid them no attention.

We walked through parks, passed the golden arch, and some famous base ball stadium Theo was really excited about, and looked at a nice river.

But we really needed two things, a place to sleep, and another way to L.A.

I don't know how long we just walked around, but my feet had started to get tired, so I called back, "Theo, why don't we stop for the day?"

"Okay. How much money do we have left?"

I started to head towards a bench, and I sat down and took off the backpack. "We have…a hundred and fifteen dollars. And some change. What about you?"

Theo sat down next me. He pulled out his pack, then said, "I have seventy. And…thirty-four cents. Oh, and about five drachmas."

"So that's a hundred eighty-five and thirty-four cents. Wait, counting the change in my bag…" I paused and searched the bottom of my pack. "We have a hundred eighty-seven and fifty-six cents."

Tanner was just standing to the right of Theo. He was looking rather uncomfortable, not knowing exactly what to do.

Ha.

"Somehow," Theo commented, "I don't think that'll buy a hotel room for three."

I sighed reluctantly. "Yeah…" But what were we going to do? "So where are we going to sleep?"

But Theo wasn't listening. He was looking across the street, something had caught his eyes. I turned, half excepting a monster to leap out at me.

I grinned mischievously too. This could be fun.

* * *

We walked around the edge of the building, and located a side door. It was boarded up, but didn't look like it had been abandoned for more than a few weeks. In fact, I was almost certain that the power and water lines were still connected too.

I spotted a plank that only had screw on one side, and pushed it up. It was just big enough for me to fit through. "Come on!" I said.

The other side was surprisingly light. The roof had several skylights, and since the sun was still out, I could see the inside of the factory. Below the skylights there were bars running across the ware house, and something that looked like a zip line. But I wasn't sure why there would be a zip line in an abandoned warehouse.

There were conveyer belts on every level, black and, oddly, shiny. At the end of most of them was a big box. There were cobwebs in every corner, and the wood seemed dull. On the conveyer belts, boxes and the floor were stuffed bears, turtles, pandas, monkeys, even a few aliens.

It was a build-a-bear warehouse, or as it said on the sign outside, a bearhouse. Ha ha! Get it? But really, the sign did say that.

I gave a whoop, and Theo and Tanner did too. It echoed off the walls, and we received three 'whoops' in return.

I ran ahead of the boys -still ignoring Tanner- and jumped in a pile of purple monkeys. I sank down and purple fur obscured my vision and I felt all warm and fuzzy. But I got back up, eager to explore more of this place.

I climbed out of the pile of stuffed animals, and ran over to one of the lower conveyer belts. I scrambled up and carefully balanced on my knees. I got to my feet, and kicked a green elephant with four horns (build-a-bear comes up with the weirdest things) onto the floor.

I was a good seven feet off the ground. I decided to crawl; I didn't want to end up a splat of human on that very hard concrete floor. I crawled to the end of the belt, and saw that it continued through a wall. "Theo, look at this! It's really cool!" I yelled. Within a minute Theo was there.

He can't resist anything even slightly adventurous.

"Let's go through!" Theo said.

I paused. "Are you sure? What if there's a giant drop down there and we end up squished?" I asked nervously.

"Come on, it can't hurt." He persisted. His brown almost black eyes rolled.

"Fine." I agreed. "But first, let's throw one of these elephants down there to see if there's a drop or not."

I picked one up, and tossed it in the hole. I stuck my head in, and at first it was very dark. But after a few seconds my eyes began to adjust to the light and I saw that the conveyer belt continued, and that it went on for quite a while. There was also a ladder against the wall, directly above me, that I could use to climb up.

"It's okay!" I called back to Theo, already out of the hole and onto the ladder. Theo crawled in, stopped, and pulled back.

"Tanner! You gotta check this out!" He called behind him.

I stubbornly pretended not to hear that, and continued climbing.

I heard the noise of what must have been the two boys entering because there was a racket that sounded like a hoard of those green four-horned elephants stampeding.

"Whoa…it's dark in here." Tanner commented.

I snorted. Well that's stupid. If you let you eyes adjust it's not dark at all! He's so impatient.

"How did Ella see anything?" Theo asked.

"I don't know…"

"Now where's that ladder she was talking about?"

I stopped climbing for a moment. I looked down. I could see Theo's pale white skin and Tanner's darker beach tan. In fact…I could see them just as good as I could have in broad daylight.

Wait a minute, there wasn't any light source in here! I _shouldn't_ be able to see!

"Hey…" I said, my voice wavering, "You guys can't see in here, can you?"

"Nope. Its pitch black; I can't even see my hand in front of my face!"

I waved my hand. Yep. I could see it alright. There it was, all pale and callused.

Then it struck me.

I could see in the dark.

I let out a little scream, and almost lost my grip on the ladder. That's when I remembered I needed to tell them, I mean, Theo, something. "Uh, Theo, I forgot to mention this…but the conveyer belt? It's not like a floor…there's still a drop…"

Yeah. I looked down again and saw them stopped dead in their tracks. I could also see the black strip that was the conveyer belt, and on either side…the floor, which was maybe…ten feet below the track? I'm not very good a judging distance or weight.

I almost kicked myself for being so stupid. "Guys, take out your flashlights. And hurry on up the ladder." I was almost to the next 'hole'. I assumed that it was one of the higher conveyer belts. Once there I poked my head through.

Whoa…it's a good thing I'm not afraid of heights! I was at least fifty or sixty feet up in the air. And the roof was still about three stories up.

Wow. By now Theo and Tanner had almost caught up.

"What was that scream for?" Tanner asked, actually sounding concerned. I was oblivious.

Theo sighed, loudly, and said to me, "Tanner wants to know why you screamed."

"Tell him that I screamed because I found out that I could see in the dark."

"She said-" Theo began.

"You can see in the dark?" Tanner interrupted.

I was still new to the concept myself, so I answered him, forgetting that I was pretending he wasn't there. "Apparently! I don't know…it's really cool though. I wonder if I can make it so I can't see?" I closed my eyes and concentrated on it being dark. When I opened them, four things happened.

The first was that it was, in fact, dark. It _was _really dark in here. Okay, that wasn't really something that happened, more like something that was already there…but whatever.

The second, was that Tanner said, "What's it like?"

The third, I replied. "It's like…" I closed my eyes, opened them, and I could see again. "Having sunshine everywhere you go." I smiled at him, and he shone the flashlight up and saw. He smiled too, hesitantly at first, and then beamed. I guess we were friends again.

The fourth happened after I crawled through the hole, and onto the conveyer belt. It was only a few seconds afterwards. Suddenly, out of nowhere, there were two…creatures. They were about three feet high, just bigger than some of the build-a-bears, and were a peachy color, with slightly darker brown fur everywhere. They had long, slender arms and legs that looked the same, like a monkey's. Their feet were hands, and they had a tail as long as they were tall. Strangely, they didn't have ears, just a head full of fur about a half an inch thick.

But the most noticeable thing about them was their smiles. They were mischievous, like Theo and mine's earlier, but a million times more so. Just by their grins I could tell that they had done every prank in the book, and then some. They didn't care about punishments; they were the ultimate class clowns.

They began to come closer, and started laughing wildly, like hyenas. By this time Theo and Tanner had climbed out too, and were also transfixed by the monkey like monsters.

"Cercopes!" Theo said in whisper. "Andulus and Atlantus. They played pranks so much, on everybody, that Zeus turned them into the first monkeys as a punishment. Oh and they have two hearts. One in their chest and one in their heads."

"The Perfect backup system." Tanner agreed.

"Then why aren't they still monkeys?" I whispered yelled, keeping one eye on the Cercopes.

"You know how monsters reform? Same here." Theo answered. Tanner had drawn his sword.

I pulled off my duck tape bracelet and my two celestial bronze duel swords gleamed. Theo took out a black dagger.

At the sight of the weapons, the Cercopes took a flaunting step back. In fact, it looked a bit like dancing.

But soon enough they moved forward again. "On three, attack." I told Theo and Tanner. "One…" The Cercopes got closer. "Two…" Almost there… "THREE!"

I lunged at one, only find it beside me. I whipped my swords around and he should have been slashed to dust, but not he was in front on me again. I silently cursed his speed. And his other heart.

Shouldn't that mean he was twice as loving as a normal person? And where is his brain?

On second thought, I don't want to know.

The other Cercope was also dodging Tanner and Theo's attack.

I warily circled the monster. I tried to fake going left, then stab him (well, I think he's him anyways) but he still moved too quickly.

What I needed was a way to make him slower…or a way to make me faster.

Great. That helped a lot. I'll just pull out those 'Guaranteed To Make You Faster Pills' that I have in my back pocket. And while I'm at it I'll use my handy dandy heart zapper! 'It Can Take Out Two Hearts At Once!"

Yep. Imaginary ones.

Then, an idea came to me. _They __were duel swords; you used both together, more as one blade then two._ Of course!

I mean; my mom IS the Goddess of Wisdom and Battle Strategy; so I must have gotten an idea sooner or later. I'm just glad it was sooner.

I pulled back a few feet and the Cercope took a few footsteps (or is it handsteps?) towards me. I took a breath and told myself I could do this. I'm a pretty bad liar.

But none the less I kept one sword at my side and 'tried' to jab the monkey thing with the other. He lunged the other way, right into my other sword. For a second he was caught on my blade, and then I stabbed my other one into his head.

As soon as both blades of celestial bronze touched him, he melted away to dust. I grinned, self satisfied. I never knew I had it in me.

I turned around and charged at the other. Just as I took out his head-heart, Tanner destroyed his regular heart. Soon the monkey monster had disintegrated, and I was left staring at Tanner. In his eyes.

"I'm sorry!" We said at the same time.

"No, Ella, it's my fault. I shouldn't have said…or done, what I did. I'm sorry."

Aww, how sweet. But he's right. He shouldn't have.

"I'm sorry too. I think I over reacted a bit. Friends?" I apologized.

"Friends." Tanner agreed. He held out his hand. We shook, and his hand felt warm, but not sweaty. I gave a smile, and thought to myself, this day turned out to be pretty good after all.

I should have known that would come back to haunt me.


	10. Boy and Monsters are different, I think

**I cannot believe I am on CHAPTER 10! AHHHHH! Wow. Most stories I write just kind of dribble off and I forget about them or don't have time but THIS one I won't. Mostly because I'm having too much fun with it. :D **

**And I would have had it up sooner, really, but I was sick the fourth through the ninth, and I was out of town for new years. So, just bear with me! **

**-Calypso C. **

Like I said before, it was around dust when we had entered the abandoned warehouse, so by the time we back on the cement floor, the sky was mostly dark.

When I say mostly I mean that if we were out in the country the world around us would have been totally dark and un-see-able, but the city lights kind of canceled that out. In fact, we could only see a few stars! I guess it was better than New York, but in Ashville…you see tons of them! Just by glancing up, you'd find a twinkle of lights.

And, believe it or not, I've seen my fair share of meteor showers. My dad, being the crazy scientist/inventor that he is, would wake me up in the middle of the night and let me take peak through his telescope.

What I saw…it was amazing. Seeing those meteors shoot through the sky, knowing that they're going faster than I can comprehend, leaving trails of fire…

But I then realized I hadn't thought about my dad all this time. At ALL. He must be out of his mind with worry! Or maybe Chiron called him or something…all I could hope is that one this quest was over I could talk to him and you know…explain things.

Back on track. So then we gathered up some weirdo stuffed animals each and sank down into their plushy fluffiness. For the first half hour or so, everything was fine. Then, Tanner fell asleep. Then Theo. Then me. And didn't put ANYBODY ON WATCH.

That was pretty stupid. But now we've learned our lesson.

I woke up tied and gagged.

Yeah. I WOKE UP tied and gagged. I didn't feel the ropes being put on, or the sweaty cloth shoved in my mouth. I didn't even get to fight back! How unfair is that?

Totally, I know. But there was much I could do. I glanced over to where Theo and Tanner had been sleeping and saw that they have received the same treatment.

Then I took a look at my captors, who were standing in front of us with glaring eyes, and my breath was taken away. Well, what was left of it any ways. One of the cutest boys I had ever seen was standing up in front of me and looking down at me like I was some sort of bug he wanted to stomp on.

Fabulous.

This boy (let's call him OOTCBIHEM, One Of The Cutest Boy I Had Ever Met) had shaggy dirty blonde hair just below his ears, in the same swoosh-y style Tanner had. OOTCBIHEM had eyes that were ever changing. One moment they were this piercing blue and the next they were a warm chocolate brown.

OOTCBIHEM was of medium build, but obviously had muscle. In fact, his ratty T-shirt had the sleeves cut off and holes just about everywhere. My eyes traveled back up to his face and I say that his nose was rounded, not like a pig's, and not like a button, but in a very cute way. OOTCBIHEM skin tone was also a lot like Tanner's. It was a very dark beach tan, so over all he looked a lot like a California surfer dude.

Of course, all of this took place in my mind in a few seconds, and OOTCBIHEM asked us a question (but of course took my gag out first). "Who are you?"

For a moment I was distracted by his now honey colored eyes, but then pulled my brain back together. I had to, to get us out of this. "Well, er, my name's Ella. This is Tanner-" I inclined my head towards Tanner, then Theo. "—And that's Theo. We're, well…on a, ummmm…" I trailed off, not knowing whether or not these people who tied us up were demigods or not.

This was the point where I finally took notice of three other guys beside's OOTCBIHEM. One had olive colored skin and dark hair, and he wasn't facing me. The two other's had brown hair, although one looked African American, and the other Caucasian. They all were around OOTCBIHEM's build, but a few inches shorter. Except of the black haired one. He looked about forty pounds heavier, all muscle.

None of them I wanted to mess with. Of course, if they weren't half-bloods, I doubt they would be a problem at all. However, if they were…

I wouldn't dwell on that.

This time, the black haired boy spoke up, in a deep tone that suggested he had already hit puberty, "Well? What were you going to say?"

"Now, now, Josh, calm down. The girl, Ella, will answer. Won't you?" OOTCBIHEM said, calmly.

I ignored his cuteness and gave a panicked glance towards my friends, silently asking what I should say. Apparently though, Tanner and Theo are really bad body language readers, so I didn't really get a reply.

I just sort of stared for a few moments when the African American guy said, "Clay, she's not answering. What if they were the ones who took down the Cercopes?"

I took a guess that he was the brains of this gang of boys. Just a guess, though.

OOTCBIHEM, I mean, Clay, replied in return, "Did you? Or do you have no idea what we're talking about?"

I nodded, realized my mistake, then piped up, "No, I know what you're talking about. And yes, we did kill those Cercopes. We're half-bloods, just like you, I'm assuming."

At that point I figured I had nothing to lose. If they weren't demigods, they think I was nuts. If they were, we might be saved.

Suddenly, Clay's expression turned to one of interest. "You did? How?"

I carefully explained my method, and Clay whistled softly. "Wow. Never thought of doing it that way. We only have one sword."

When I had been speaking, a few times one of the other guys had interrupted me with a question or comment, but Clay had shushed them. I seemed like he was their leader of some sort.

"Uhh…would you mind untying us? We really won't do you any harm. Seriously." I asked politely. I gave him a (what I hoped was) dazzling smile, you know…a bit flirtatious. I blinked my eyes at him, but not so much that I was over doing it. Actually, it wasn't that hard. After all, like I said before, he was one of the cutest boys I had ever seen.

A few moments passed and Clay seemed to consider this proposition. At last he nodded, and the big guy named Josh untied Tanner, the brainy boy Theo and Clay pulled off mine.

Tanner, Theo and I stood up and dusted our self's off. Now that I was standing, I felt a lot better, braver, and much more annoyed. I planted my hands on my hips and began a rant. "Do you do this to all the people that pass through here? And you ARE demigods, right? Why aren't you at Camp Half-Blood or Lupa's Camp? Do ya'll have a name? I know your name is Clay and the body guard dude is Josh, but what about the other two? And why do you live here? And why-"

"Hold on! Slow down, and I'll do my best to answer all your questions."

Clay interrupted me mid sentence, and I rolled my eyes and huffed. I started tapping my shoe on the ground in a simple beat. Okay, I was severely irritated. But you know…there's been a lot to deal with lately. I guess he took that as a hint to continue, so he started speaking again.

"No. You're the first. Yeah, we're demigods all right. We don't need them. And we don't need to gods either, for that matter. Our name is DEALL, Demigods Enjoying and Living Life. I'm Clay, this 'big dude' is Josh, this-" He gestured to the brainy kid. "—is Coy. And that's Sanders." Clay took a breath, then continued. "We live here because we're out casts. The gods didn't want us; they practically threw us away! And the camps don't want or need us either. We survive on our own, we're our own family."

After his mini speech was done, tanner piped up, somewhat aggravated. "So, that's it? You tied us up for no good reason then go about saying you don't like the gods at all? Of course they want you! And why wouldn't the camp want you? This is ridiculous, Ella, Theo, let's go. Now."

I had never heard Tanner like that before. Never so strict or harsh…never so, I guess irritated is the only word that works here.

By now _my _annoyance had passed, and I frowned. "Hold up Tanner, it's the middle of the night. We can't just leave. And your opinion isn't the only one! If Clay will let us, I think we should spend the night. It's not like we have anywhere else to go."

Theo eyebrows were raised, but he also took a step back, clearly telling me and Tanner that he had no part in this. In answer to his silent retreat I said, "Oh no you don't! You're in this as much as he is!" I flung my arm out towards Tanner.

"It's fine with me if you guys stay the night. We'll show you back to HQ. We even have a few extra beds." Clay said. He flashed a smile at me, and I returned it.

Tanner clinched his fists tight against his hips. "No thank you. We're fine."

"Tanner, be reasonable! Clay is being perfectly polite, and offering us a place to stay!" I yelled.

"Ella! They tied us up and don't like the gods and you still trust them?"

I opened my mouth in astonishment, Tanner was never this rude or mean! What in the world had come over him? "Yes. I don't believe that they would hurt us! It was all just a big misunderstanding, right Clay?"

Clay nodded his blonde hair. "Of course it was. We didn't mean to scare you."

Tanner still shook his head and started gathering up our packs.

I whirled toward Theo. "Theo! Tell Tanner he is being completely unreasonable!"

Shoulders hunched and hands in his pocket, Theo glumly said, "Tanner, sorry dude, but I agree with Ella. We have nowhere else to go, this is our best option."

Tanner face turned beet red and took a menacing step towards Clay. "Fine! But if anything funny is going on…" He trailed off, threat implied.

The guy with the brown hair, Sanders, snorted in amusement. "You'd think we were giant cannibals the way your acting."

Clay raised his hands in the air, open palmed. "Tanner, I'm not going to hurt you guys. What's my motive? But come on, I'll show you to our hideout." He started walking to one of the conveyor belts.

We trailed after him, and Theo hung back and gave me this look that I didn't get. "Ella, I know what I said earlier…but I still think we should be on the lookout. Just in case."

What was the deal? Clay, Josh, Coy and Sanders were perfectly nice and polite. For heaven's sake, they were giving us beds to sleep on! Why were Tanner and Theo being so rude? Like Sanders said, they're just boys, not monsters. They're completely harmless.


	11. I Get Delusional

**First off I would like to say thank you SO much to those who have reviewed, put my on their fav's list, and even just read it. I got over 350 visits, and nearly a thousand hits! Okay, I'll admit, I don't actually know the difference…but still! Big numbers! (And if you could shine the light on the difference that would be FANTASTIC!)**

**Second, lately I have been really confused and angry at some things, and a bunch of that has been translated into this story, instead of people's faces. :) **** So, in result, there's probably going to be A LOT of drama in the romance department…and the friendship, and family, and just about everything. :D**

**Third, I'm REALLY REALLY sorry for not updating all that quickly…and sorry that it's a kind of short chapter. :D I could have made it longer, but that would have taken a day or two more, so I just cut my losses here. Hopefully twelve won't take so long….**

**Okay, well, I didn't really start working on it until yesterday…so, really, I just procrastinated. :D **

**-Calypso C. **

I tossed and turned, analyzing the day's events when, in reality, I should be getting some sleep. But my mind was buzzing so I just stared up at the bottom of the bunk bed on top of me.

Well, not just staring. Thinking too. I was thinking about the whole day…and night, and how everything seemed so out of control.

Tanner and I fought again.

And the thing is, this time; I wasn't the one to run off, I wasn't the victim. I was the offender. And that was much, much worse.

So now I understood what Theo had been talking about. About Tanner feeling just a bad I had, if not more.

I guess it began when we about to crawl into the beds provided for us, you know, I was thanking Clay. For some reason, that pushed Tanner over the edge. He stormed off, to his old mattress on the floor. There was only two extra beds, so Tanner had to camp on the floor. Theo, being Theo, had immediately claimed one bunk (the one on top of me).

And…well, Tanner have offered up the other one for me, you know, being noble and all that. So, technically, it was his own fault he was sleeping on the floor. Besides, it's not like I didn't say, 'no that's fine, you can have it'. I did. But Tanner insisted.

After he had me convinced, I gave a him a smile and a hug. We hung on to each other a few moments more than necessary. Then Theo and Clay walked in on us.

That's when I went to say thank you to him.

Once Tanner had stormed off, I told him, "Tanner! Why are you being so rude?"

He didn't say anything. "Well?" I continued. "This isn't like you! Clay's doing something nice for us—"

He spun around with a jerk, as if he had been shocked. "Clay? Yeah. All about Clay. Clay the great. Let's trust this guy! It's not like he tied us up or hates to gods!" He said sarcastically.

My mouth dropped. "This is so STUPID. Why can't you just try not to be an idiotic, rude, spoiled, jerk? Clay's doing, something, NICE." As soon as the words were out I instantly regretted them. My face softened, and eyes looked for a place to land on.

Tanner kicked the mattress, and said, his voice laced with cold fury, "Well, if I'm such an idiotic, rude, spoiled jerk just go and have fun with Clay."

""Oh, Tanner, I didn't mean that…Y-you're not a jerk. I-I was just mad. Please don't be angry. I didn't mean that." I said softly.

He didn't reply.

I walked over to him, and put my hand on his shoulder. He turned so that my hand slid off. Tears welled up in my eyes. I squeezed them tight, and turned my head away. "I'm sorry." I whispered.

Tanner had just shaken his head.

I walked away.

I had flopped on the mattress and told Clay that I was really tired and just wanted to go to bed. He had nodded, and then flipped of the light switch.

After replaying that in my head, I realized I had to go the bathroom. I 'turned on' my 'night vision' (that's what I decided to call my ability to see in the dark). I slid my legs over the side of the bed, and tip-toed pass Tanner's huddled form.

I walked out the door into the black hallway, except, of course, for me it didn't matter. I tried to remember which way the bathroom was, couldn't figure it out, so took a guess and turned right. I came to the den, where DEALL hung out. Then I passed the kitchen/dining room, and was left standing in front of a closed door. I turned the handle, and it opened, but it wasn't a bath room. Not even close.

I was peering into a giant cave (it must have been underground), and on the walls I could see weapons. Axes, swords, guns, knives, daggers, all a harsh metallic and steel glow. For some reason a chill ran down my spine. There was a table right in front of me, and it looked a lot like some of the torture tables from medieval times. To my horror there seemed to be blood on it, and it looked recent.

I didn't dare look more. I was afraid of what I was going to find. I softly closed the door, and turned around. I crept back down the hall, and slowly climbed the ladder to Theo's bunk. I tapped him on the foot.

He rolled over.

I slapped his foot.

"Wha?" He grumbled.

"Theo," I hissed, "I need to show something. Now. Pronto. It's really important."

He just rolled over again.

My eyes slid over to where Tanner was sleeping. For a moment I thought I would just wake him up, but then I remembered our fight. I guess the shock of finding that room had made me forget.

I took a deep breath, and pinched Theo on the ankle. Hard. With my nails.

"OW!" He jolted awake.

"Shhh!" I said. "I need to show you something!"

"What?" He asked in annoyance.

"Just come on. Now."

I guess the tone of my voice told him it was serious, and I was not to be crossed, so he got up without another word, and came down the ladder. I led him down the hall, and open the door.

My back to the room, I said, "See?"

He face twisted in confusion. "Why did you want to show me the bathroom?"

"I thought you sho-, wait, what?" Huh?

I looked over my shoulder, and gave a little gasp. "What? B-but, but…" I had raised my arm and pointed it at the room, my face a look of total derangement.

"Come on Ella," Theo said gently, "Let's get you back to bed. I think you need some sleep."

"But Theo," I trailed off, not sure what to say. "T-that should be a giant cave! Not a, a bathroom! It had weapons and torture tables with blood!" I continued babbling, so I didn't even noticed that he closed the door, grabbed my arm and took us back to the room.

Once in there I tore my arm free. "I just don't understand," I said in bewilderment.

Theo rolled his eyes. "I do."

"You do?"

"Yeah" He said, "You're really tired, and another fight with Tanner has left you imagining things. Come on, go back to bed."

I stamped my foot. "I'm telling you! I saw a g-" I stopped midsentence when the light flickered to life, and saw Clay standing in the doorway.

"What are you two doing up?" Clay asked suspiciously.

"Ella woke up and thought that the bathroom was-"

"Was down the hall to the left!" I gave a nervous laugh. "I couldn't remember which way the bathroom was." Theo and I made eye contact for a brief half-second, and he just nodded slightly, not understanding why we were lying, but knowing to.

And I thought they couldn't understand body language.

"Oh." Clay said in surprise, sounding almost disappointed. "If that's all, then I'm just gonna go back to bed. So should you."

Then he disappeared back into the hallway.


	12. I Told You So

**Wow. I was just reading my earlier chapters and…wow. Just wow. They were complete and total mush! Arg, well, hopefully I've gotten better. I have, right? I'm thinking of going back and re-writing the first chapter…I don't really like it all the much. At all. But…well, I'll try to finish this chapter first. :D **

**So…I HAVE gotten better, right? Because even the second and third are pretty terrible! I can't believe you guys read through all that. I can't even re-read through all of that! Anyways, I'm really impressed, and really thankful! **

**I am really, truly, honestly sorry that I have taken so long to update, but I haven't been sleeping enough, I have a ton of homework, OM practice every night except Tuesday, when I have guitar, and basketball practice, plus games, and a ski trip. And, well, one of my very close friends is really worried about her weight and I'm really scared for her. And the fact is, she really isn't that over weight. She not a string bean, and she's not 100 pounds, but she's not 200 either. **

**Anyways, I'll do my best to get this posted in the next few days. **

**And sorry for the insanely short chapter, but that was all I could write tonight, and I figure it was better to have some up sooner or later. And yes, if you couldn't tell before, I am a big fan of cliff hangers. :D I mean, writing them, not reading them. :D **

**-Calypso C. **

I waited until Clay was gone, and turned towards Theo. "So…you do believe me?"

He sighed, his eyes filled with uncertainty. "I don't know…and Ella?"

"Yeah?"

"It's really creepy not being able to see you, but knowing you can see me."

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "Come on, we have to check out that room again. I promise you, it's not a bathroom…or not only a bathroom anyways. Let's go."

I grabbed his pale wrist and guided him out the door and down the hall. As we approached the door I crossed my fingers (on the hand that wasn't leading Theo) and slowly pulled open the door. It must have been well oiled because it didn't creak, luckily for us.

"Ella…can you turn the light on? I can't see." I turned towards Theo's voice.

"I would, really," I apologized, "but it's the bathroom. I'm gonna close the door again, then re-open it and see if it changes. You ready?"

"Do I have a choice?"

I considered for a moment. "No, you don't."

I softly pulled it close, then slid it open again, leaning forward in anticipation, but still wary. My eyes strayed from the blood, and landed on the weapons. I jerked Theo through and shut the door. I let go of his wrist and started walking around (avoiding the torture table) while he groped around for a light switch.

As the iridescent lights flickered on, Theo's eyes widened in shock, and shook his head in amazement. "Ella…you were right…this is definitely some kind of army place…"

Despite where we were I gave a chuckled. "Told you so." I paused. "Army place?" I gave a grin.

Doing a classic Theo eye roll, he walked towards a pile of double sided hammers that looked as if they weighed two-hundred pounds. Theo tried to pick one up, but couldn't because they were too heavy.

He recoiled from them a little. "These weren't made for humans, Ella. Nobody, not even a full grown demigod, could lift one of these. It would have to be a monster of some sort, or a god or titian. You don't think…" He trailed off but he didn't need to finish.

"Maybe." I said. I turned and saw that the cavern was a whole lot bigger then I first thought. In fact, I couldn't see the end. "Wow…Theo! It just keeps going on and on and on. The last thing I can make out is that giant steel forge with DEALL printed on it."

Theo turned and followed my gaze. "Uh…forge? DEALL? All I see is a bunch of blobs after those spikes. It gets all fuzzy after that. Too far away. Do you know how big that makes this place? "

I saw the spikes. "But…I can see those fine, and the forge is way after that…you don't think this is some sort of new ability, do you?" I asked excitedly.

"Maybe…" He answered uneasily. He took another glance around. "I think we should go now. Like, leave this whole place. We can tell Chiron about over an IM."

"Instant messaging?" I was confused.

"No, Iris Messaging. She's goddess of the rainbow, and with the right offering and words she'll make the connection. Let's go and wake up Tanner. We don't what we're dealing with here."

I stifled a laugh.

"No pun intended." Theo said.

We crept quietly down the passage way and into the hallway, carefully tip-toeing back to the room. We hurriedly packed up our stuff, while trying to stay as quiet as possible.

Theo woke Tanner up, and we all headed down the hallway.

We were about to come to the end— where the conveyor belt led out into the main warehouse—when I saw another hallway. There seemed to be moaning from inside, painful groaning. It made my heart ache. It was sad…depressed…hurt…moaning.

I turned into the hallways and walked to the closest door. I stopped.

The moaning was louder now.

"Ella!" Theo hastily whispered. "What are you doing? Get back here!"

"Hold on…" My voice sounded faint and far away…like I was in a dream land. "I heard something…someone's hurt…so hurt."

It was like I was drawn to the door, by some magical force. Or maybe it was just my pity. I didn't know.

"Ella…" It was Tanner. "Come on…we have to get out of here…now." His voice was soft, and didn't have any of the bitter tones from earlier.

"Just a sec…I have to help them…" I said.

My hand landed on the handle, and I turned it. The door opened.

I gasped.

Inside, were bodies.

Human bodies.


	13. Sunrises and Sunsets

**I know this is totally and erratically off topic- but bear with me, just for a sec. **

**I just started reading the Maximum Ride series a few days ago (Wednesday) and I'M IN LOVE WITH THEM. They are, to be brief, AMAZING. I'm on the fourth now, and can't get the fifth until Monday. At the school library. Which sucks. **

**So I may break down and get it on my kindle. :D **

**Anyways, sincerely sorry for not updating quicker (with that cliff hanger and all) but I HAVE been busy. I promise. It's not one of those author excuses which mean you actually did nothing. **

**I had stuff. A lot of it too. Like I mentioned before, my Odyssey of the Mind team has a competition tomorrow, and I'm extremely excited and nervous. We've had practice 5 days a week for the past two months, and I don't think we're prepared enough. **** Anyways, a bunch of other stuff has been going on. **

**Like reading Maximum Ride and yelling at Max and Fang to get together already. **

**But, you know, other stuff too. On the bright side, I have this GREAT idea for a new book. Except, I'm having trouble with a character's name. And I don't want to post it on fictionpress because I think I might want to try to publish it someday. And I can't do that if it's a) on the web where people can read it (no suspense for waiting for it to come out) and b) it might get stolen. **

**Wow. That was a LONG rant. **

**To make up for it, I'll give you a really long chapter. :D**

**Calypso C. **

* * *

At that point I let out a really loud, really high pitched girly shriek.

Something I'm not proud of. At all.

But it was creepy, and scary, and more than kind of freaky. To see all those bodies draped across each other, closed eyes, and torn up shirts and blood leaking in pools on the floor…

The fact that the bodies were all demigods did not help matters. Tanner and Theo came running down the hall, asking what was wrong, and following my finger pointing to the now open door.

In my defense, I wasn't the only one who shrieked like a girl.

I just happened to be the only girl.

I was about to shakily shut the door and go confront Clay when Tanner said, "Stop. I think I see something."

He actually walked in closer to the dead bodies, and leaned down and touched one.

I thought I would hurl.

Tanner looked at my sickened expression and said plainly, "They're not dead."

It took a moment to register that, then I gasped in relief. Theo did too. I rushed forward knelt down next to Tanner.

Apparently being mad at someone kind of all goes away when you think there's a room full of dead bodies in a really insanely cute boy's hide out who sort of started the whole thing.

Hmm. That's a really messed up sentence. Well, that's the life of a demigod.

"What are they doing here then?" I asked.

Theo walked over. "I don't know. But they look like they're out cold."

Tanner nodded. "Yep, they're unconscious."

"I don't know how though…." Theo said.

He frowned. "There aren't any marks on their heads, no bruises, nothing. So they were put out by gas, stabbed with a sedative, or one of their pressure points was pushed."

I nodded too, wondering how he knew so much about look-like-their-dead-people.

I took a closer look at the bodies on the floor and counted seven. They looked like they ranged from eleven to sixteen. Four of them were girls, and three of them were guys.

Two of them had orange camp-half blood t-shirts on. Two had purple shirts.

Uh-oh.

I glanced at Tanner and Theo and asked, "What can we do?"

They glanced at each other, then back at me, and Tanner said, "Nothing. I think. We can't drag all seven of them. We would have to wait until they woke up."

I frowned and my eyebrows scrunched up. "We can't do…nothing. It just seems wrong."

Theo shrugged like he was sorry. "What can we do then? As much as I hate to, I think we should high-tail it out of here before it's light outside. Which is soon."

I opened my mouth in surprise and shock. "So you guys are going to leave seven kids to very possibly _die_? Or be _brainwashed_? And not just kids, _demigods_." I got stubborn and stomped my foot. I glared at them. "Well, I'm not! I'm going to help them! They could die! I can't live with that. And if you guys can…then you can leave. But I'm staying. End of story."

Theo took a stepped back. Tanner stood up and looked longingly at the open door. They both paused for a moment, then, looking reluctant, Tanner said, "Fine."

Theo evenly looked at me, but something was amiss in his dark eyes. Something weird. I just didn't know what it was yet. "If we get captured, tortured, and/or killed, I'm blaming you."

I rolled my eyes and gave a half smile. "What now?" I was still having a hard time believing that they would leave and, well, leave these poor kids behind.

"We…well, uh…." I'm going to be completely honest with you; I had absolutely no idea what to do, besides to wait until they wake up.

Theo glared at me. Tanner stood up and crossed his arms. "You don't have a plan, do you?"

I glanced around, and my eyes caught the open door. My eyebrows rose. "I do now…but I'm not sure if you'll like it."

* * *

"Hey Clay!" I called flirtatiously. Or what I hoped was anyways.

I started to bat my eyelashes, then realized that was stupid, and would give me away.

"Hey El!" The blonde haired boy greeted me. "I'm glad you're up. I want to show you something." He waved his hand for mw to follow him. We ran over to one of the ladders, and he let me go first.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see."

I rolled eyes (although I was kind of nervous), and continued climbing.

For anybody who hasn't climbed up a ladder that is over five stories high, it's realllllllllllllllllly long and tiring. So by the time we got to the top, I was pretty beat. That and the fact that I hadn't slept last night. At all.

We came out onto the roof, and I gasped. I slowly walked toward the edge in wonderment as Clay came out behind me. "It's so…pretty."

That was the understatement of the year. The sun was just breaking over the horizon, and there were clouds framing it. They looked purple and the sky was already a light blue. The sunrise spread oranges and yellows and red across the sky like paintbrush strokes. I could also see over a fair amount of St. Luis, and that only added to the picture, the sunlight glinting off some of the rivers and stuff.

"Yeah. I like to come up here every morning to watch it rise. Good way to start the day, don't you think?" Clay said.

I nodded, mesmerized by the scene before me. I know I had thought Clay was, I don't know, evil or something (how could you knock out seven kids and have a giant cave with weapons and torture tables otherwise?) but somehow this didn't really strike me as evil.

He shuffled closer to me, and was looking at his feet. This was the first time I had seen him not bursting with confidence. It was kind of….sweet.

Clay got even closer and slowly raised his arm and put it around my shoulder. Hmm. Strong.

I mentally shook my head and told myself to concentrate on the plan. But those ever changing eyes were completely amazing. I felt like they were looking right down into my soul.

Can you say lovey-dovey? Urg. Now that thought makes me sick to my stomach.

Anyways. I put my head down on his shoulder and we kept on looking at the beautiful sunrise.

Then something hit me. With Tanner I had been on a beach, with soft and soothing ocean sounds, watching the sunset. With Clay I was on top of a building, with car horns and sirens, watching the sunrise.

They were so different, yet they were the same. Tanner was a good friend. I had only known Clay for about twelve hours. Tanner had brown hair and green eyes, and Clay had blonde hair and changing eyes, but now that I thought about it…they were never green. But they both were kind of sweet, and I liked talking to them.

But there was one key difference.

I knew for sure that Tanner was good, and I didn't know whether or not Clay was evil.

It was more of a problem than you might think.

* * *

** insanely sorry for not updating in FOREVER. Please don't use pitchforks and rotten tomatoes on me! **

**Haha, well I hope you like it. It's okay. I guess. I was going to make it a lot longer but I just that would be a good place to stop. Plus, I would get another chapter out sooner. :D **

**R&R! **


	14. All Nighter's Never End Well

**I am SO SO SO SO SO freakin' sorry for making you wait so long! Although, in my defense, I did have a lot of technical problems. I wrote the entire chapters...and then my computer wouldn't open it up. So I lost it. So I had to start over. :P Then it wouldn't upload onto here, and ack. It was annoying! And don't even get me started on fictionpress! Anyways, hope you enjoy. :D**

**-Calypso C.**

* * *

"Clay," I said. "I need to ask you something."

He turned and looked at me with those ever different eyes of his. "What?"

I shifted around on my feet. This was an uncomfortable question. "Well...you said you don't like the gods. Because they abandoned you. But they didn't. They leave you with your mortal parent."

Clay sighed. "Listen Ella, it's more complicated than that. It's a really long story."

I smiled. "I have all the time in the world."

He frowned for a second. "What about your quest? And Theo...and...Tanner." I could tell he had a hard time saying Tanner's name not in contempt, but at least he tried. I still didn't get why those two don't like each other! I mean, they should get along...But I brought my mind back to Clay.

I shrugged my shoulders. "They can wait another few hours."

A smile crossed his face at those words, although he began his tale reluctantly. "I got left with my mom. And for a few years it was all happy, I think. I have a few vague memories of my mom and I in the park and riding in the car, and so on. But when I was three or four, something happened. My mom disappeared. I got scared. I didn't know what to do. A few days later, one of the neighbors found me and called social services. I got put in an orphanage." We both sat down on the rooftop. Clay gazed out towards the city, lost in memories.

"The police never found my mom." He continued. "But when I was seven, my dad visited the orphanage. He told me everything that had happened- and would happen- was for my own good." He spat it out with bitter dislike. "I was seven then- I just nodded wide eyed as he explain about the gods and stuff. I believed him. Then he left. After that, life was never the same. I got put into fosters homes, but where ever I went monsters followed. It was incredible that I survived. Finally, when I was ten I ran away. I found this place, and started living here."

I nodded sympathetically. "That's terrible. But your dad did say it was for your own good."

He face darkened. "Yeah. I'm sure almost getting eaten is for my own good." He abruptly stood up.

I stood up too and touched my hand to his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know it must be hard for you to talk about this."

He face relaxed a bit. "'S okay. So, what about you?"

I told him my story-which wasn't nearly as terrible. We continued sitting up there on the roof, making small talk. I was getting drowsy, I had never pulled an all nighter before.

And it wasn't until I was on the verge of sleep that I realized I never asked who his dad was, and that the end of his story didn't really tie up some of the loose ends. I told myself I would ask him when I woke up. After that, I drifted off, dreaming of sunrises and monsters and flashing gold swords.

* * *

I open my eyes to bright sunlight. I blinked. When I sat up and looked around, I didn't see Clay anywhere. The sun was slowly climbing in the sky, and a quick glance down at my watch told me that it was eleven thirty.

Where was Clay? Then my eyes widened and I realized I had let the plan down. Oh no! I was suppose to keep him busy! I scrambled up and dashed down the ladder, and once I reached the ground I tripped from trying to go so fast.

I ran down the hall to the room where we had found the bodies. No one was in there. It was completely empty. I checked the bedroom and kitchen next. Deserted. I couldn't hear anything. There wasn't a sound. Finally I walked over the the bathroom.

I gulped. What would I find? Would Theo and Tanner be...No, I wouldn't think about it. And where were the passed out kids? Slowly I reached for the knob, my breath coming out in short ragged gasps. This was all my fault...

I opened the door.

It was the bathroom.

I hurriedly closed it. The door swung open once more.

It was dark. And seemingly empty. I took a cautious step in. All of a sudden I felt a someone grabbed my shoulder. I screamed at the top of my lungs, and turned around and punched the person in the face.

"Ow! Ella!"

I sighed with relief. "Tanner!" I glanced at his face. I winced. "Sorry. I thought you were trying to attack me or something."

He clutched his nose. It was bleeding. He stood up and said, "It's fine."

I shifted nervously. "So what happened? Did the plan work?" I asked.

"Sort of." Tanner grunted.

I frowned. "What do you mean by 'sort of'?"

He waved the hand that wasn't covering his nose and started heading towards the back of the cavern. "I'll show you."


	15. I Get All Tied Up

**So I am going to try to update WAY more, 'cause I'm not going to be as busy. But I am also going to start a Maximum Ride fanfic soon...so that may slow me down. :D **

**-Calypso C. **

* * *

My heart beat had calmed down and as Tanner and I walked towards the back of the cavern, I was thinking. "Hey, Tanner?"

"Yeah?" He said. He wouldn't look me in the eyes.

"I'm really sorry for what I said last night. I didn't mean it." There was silence. I looked down at the floor. I guess he wasn't going to forgive me.

Then I felt a hand take mine. Our finger's intertwined. "It's okay."

We walked like that in silence for what seemed about forever. And it wasn't a tense, awkward silence, it was a nice, understanding silence. It was...nice. Really nice.

When we started to approached the middle (that was a guess) I saw Theo. I smiled and waved with the hand not holding Tanner's, and I'm sure I looked really relieved. Now I knew they were both okay.

"They're still tied up." Theo called out to us.

I frowned. "Who's tied up?"

"Everybody else." He said.

"Clay and all his cronies, and the kids that we thought were dead." Tanner supplied.

"Why did you tie them up?" I asked. As we got closer I saw them, well, tied up.

Theo ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "They tried to kill us when we woke up. They weren't in their right minds."

I nodded. "So what now? And how did the plan only sort-of work?"

Well..." Tanner said, "Clay keeps on saying that he didn't even know this was here. And he did seem actually surprised. He also keeps telling us that they aren't the only ones here."

"It's true!" Clay yelled. "And Ella, I can't believe you!" He took a few deep breaths, and I did feel kind of bad for playing him like that, but I had to. "But you're all in danger! You have to leave right now!"

Tanner looked at me with his green eyes. "That's what he keeps saying Owl Eyes." I raised my eyebrows. "And you don't believe him, Fin Face?"

Theo made a yuck sound. "Now you guys are giving yourselves pet names? I can't take this!" He exclaimed dramatically.

I blushed. "They're not pet names!"

"Yeah," Tanner chimed in (while we both let go of each other's hands), "They're insults!"

Theo rolled his dark eyes. "And people who insult each other hold hands. Right. I get that."

"Stop your stupid sarcastic bickering! We have to get of here now!" Clay intervened.

Tanner turned around and threw his hands up in the air. "You keep telling us that! What is it exactly that we're suppose to be afraid of?" He yelled, clearly exasperated.

Suddenly a look a fear passed over Clay's face. "That." He whispered so quietly that we had to lean in to hear him.

I slowly turned around. And promptly screamed.

In front of me was probably the scariest thing I had ever seen. I can still remember it as I was watching a movie, as if it had happened to someone else, not me.

The best way to describe it is a shadow. It crept over the walls, it's coal red eyes paralyzing people where ever they looked. It's dark, clawed hands reached out towards us and struck fear into our hearts. The body of the monster was like a cloak. I couldn't see it the rest of it's face- if it had one, that is. I remembered reading a book series about a boy wizard. There were these things called dementors in it. Imagine that, but a thousand time worse.

And then, it's hands or claws turned bone white. Slowly, the color of nothing traveled up it's arms, sliding and slithering like a snake. It seemed to grow in size. When the whiteness reached it's head, I wished that it was black again. It revealed a skull, bleached white, with jagged teeth and I didn't want to know what else. I was standing there, stock still. I couldn't move, I couldn't talk, and I certainly couldn't run. This was the monster under the bed or in the closet, the monster that haunted people in their dreams, the nightmare of all nightmares.

And it was coming towards me, reaching out, for my heart.

* * *

There's nothing like being tied up against your will by a shadow creature that makes you think about life. And how wonderful it is. Tanner was tied up next to me. I couldn't reach his hand. Luckily, the monster wasn't in sight. If it had been, I wouldn't have been able to think at all, much less try and grab Tanner's hand.

So I had to try and avoid my dark thoughts. Instead I thought about that day down at the beach, when I first met Tanner, and all my martial arts matches with Theo, who was tied up on my other side, his dark eyes wide with fear and understanding.

Instead of feeling Clay's gaze burning a hole in my head, and admitting that he was right and I was wrong, I remembered when I first learned how to ride a bike, my goofy old dad doing his best to comfort me when I fell and scraped my knee. I conjured up the memory of my first day of kindergarten, and when I learned how to read. I visited my old bedroom and the tree I used to climb at my old house. I could almost feel the dog we had adopted for a little while nuzzling me with her soft nose.

I didn't look at the cavern walls, or feel the ropes cutting into my skin. Nope. I didn't. I was far, far away in my head. Where I was as free as a bird.

* * *

Four hours later, after my stock of memories had run out, and the shadow monster was gone- maybe off to hunt, I started talking, and, well, a nice way to put it is demanding answers.

"Ella, you really don't want to know." Clay insisted.

I tried to stamp my foot like a little kid, but failed because of the ropes (I mean, duh!). "Tell me you little traitor! How could you not tell us this!" I continued yelling and screaming and blaming people (besides myself of course).

Clay looked furious. "Me? The traitor? It was you who-"

"Listen guys, clam down. Clay, you need to tell us what you know so we can get out of here." Theo interrupted, ever being the calm one.

Clay gave a dejected sigh, so loud that I could barely hear Tanner's complaint of how he was right.

"I don't know where to begin."

I grumpily looked away.

"Come 'on, just pick a place a start." Theo said. Where did that boy get all his patience from?

"Fine." Clay said moodily. We were all a little (okay, more than that) grumpy and tired after being tied up for so long. "I'll start here: That shadow wasn't always a monster. Okay, well, he was, but he wasn't a monster like that. Once upon a time, he was a human. A human boy."


End file.
